Yu-Gi-Oh! Arc-V: Secrets of Summonings
by DragonFanatic10
Summary: 15-years old Brandon Kanbara unwillingly switched Duel Schools. Now, he's at a school where he is a duelist way more skilled than any other duelist on his school. The fact that he's able to use all kind of summonings doesn't help. However, behind each summoning is a story. A story that will turn his, and the life of others upside down.
1. Chapter 1

**Good day! **

**Since Arc-V came out, I wasn't really entertained. It didn't appeal to me. However, the more episodes came, the better it got. Fusion, Synchro and Xyz? Where can I sign?**

**And because of that, I'm planning on doing an Arc-V story, however, it won't be like my Zexal story.**

**At first, no characters from the anime will be in it. Only OC's. This is because I feel that only Oc's fit my writing style better, and too be honest I only like Shun, Yuto, Yuya, Reiji and Yuzu. If you don't like that, then don't read it.**

**Second, the cards used in Arc-V will make an appearance, mostly because their original owners (in this story) never exist or existed.**

**Third, the names are all americanized, mostly because I'm bad at thinking of Japanese names. The rest, so the monsters, are still japanese.**

**Fourth, my OC from my Zexal story, Brandon Kanbara, will make an appearance. This is because he is my standard OC. This means his name and appearance is the same, where his backstory and such might be not.**

**Fifth, it's not sure if I will create a whole fic, mostly because I don't know if people will like it or not. That's why I will publish chapter 1, based on the reactions of that, I will decide if I will make a whole fic of it.**

**With that being said, enjoy!**

* * *

Unleash the pendulum.

* * *

The blond entered the room with an annoyed look on his face. Something that has reached him didn't amuse him.

"Is this some kind of sick joke?" he asked.

The man turned his chair, revealing himself to the boy. "It's not. I'm not the type to joke."

The boy grunted. "Then why are you sending me to a school like that? It's far underneath my level."

"And that's exactly the reason," the man answered.

"Then give me a proper school, not one like that!" The boy was getting quickly annoyed with the man.

"You are one of our Master Rank duelists," the man began. "You are able to finish this quickly with your skills."

The blond said nothing, but the man knew what was going to come. The boy could be a real pain in the ass sometimes.

"You know what's coming up, right?" the man asked for confirmation.

"Of course," the boy nodded.

"In order to make sure someone of our school will win, we need to make sure other schools can't," the man said. "And we're doing that by destroying the schools from the inside. With your skills, they will quickly see you as their 'hero'. One that can be victorious for them."

"A school like ours doesn't need tricks like that," the boy said. "Especially not against a school like that."

"You should see it as an honor," the man said. "I'm allowing my best duelist to slack off. And I know how much you like to slack off."

"Fine. I will do as you please," the boy answered, finally accepting. "But I won't do it with pleasure."

The boy turned, heading for the door. The voice of the man temporarily stopped him.

"Kanbara."

"What is it?"

"Don't hold back. Show them all your strength in duels," the man spoke. "They have to see you as their 'hero'."

"If that's what you want, master." The door opened, the boy stopping in front of the opened door. "I will get the job done."

The boy stepped outside, the door closing.

The man stared at the door, hearing the blond's footsteps becoming fainter.

"Succeed and the dueling world shall see my success, Kanbara."

* * *

"Come on, Riles! We're going to be late!"

The blonde girl impatiently tapped with her feet on the ground, the running engine of a car being heard behind her.

The brunette girl soon escaped the house, closing the door behind her, joining up with the blonde girl.

"Sorry! Forgot my bag!" she apologized.

The blonde rolled her eyes. "Come on! Mom's waiting in the car!"

The brunette nodded and followed her sister into the car. The car soon pulled up and left for school.

* * *

"Finding a parking spot is a hell right here..." the mom mumbled while the two sisters hummed to the song on the radio.

"You can drop off us right here," the blond sister said, pointing to the respective place. "It's not a far walk from there."

The mom drove to the side, leaving the sisters out. "Have a nice day at school!"

"We will!" the two sisters said in unison before the car left.

The girls started their walk to the school, ready to start the day.

But just like with every school, there's always that one gang that harasses other people.

One catcalled at them, the other one laughed at the other catcalling and the last one, probably the leader, approached them.

"Hello," he greeted, taking a hold of the blonde girl's arm. "Aren't you supposed to be at school right now?"

She took her arm back, being on the verge of snapping already. "We are. That's why we got to leave."

The boy growled, taking her arm back. "You're already late anyway. Why not have some fun?"

His grip intensified, leaving her no way out. The two others had already take hold of her sister, also leaving her no escape.

"Let me go!"

The leader pulled her closer, now being dangerously close. "Come on, not even one little kiss?"

"Not even a little bit," she answered.

The boy growled even harder. "I never get rejected, you little-"

"Let go of those girls," a guy's voice spoke.

A blond boy with a black v-neck shirt underneath a red body warmer walked over to the scene unfolding, hands hidden in his slightly sagged jeans, his dog-tag dangling in front of his chest.

"Or else?" the leader asked provokingly.

The moment the blond boy opened his eyes and looked into the leader's eyes, the latter started to take a step back.

"Or else I have to make you," he answered, clearly not impressed. "And the four of us know how the last time ended."

The other two took a step back in fear too, letting go of the brunette girl.

The leader ultimately let go of the blonde girl, taking a step back again, but he fell. "Please don't duel against us! We beg you!"

The blond boy crouched down in front of them, his eyes boring into the leader's.

It stayed silent for a while, but the blond decided to break that silence.

"Boo."

The three quickly got up, running away as fast as they could.

The blond boy swung the backpack he had placed on the ground before helping the girls back over his right shoulder, placing his hands back in his pockets afterwards.

"Thanks for helping," the blond girl said.

"No problem," he answered. "Those three are always harassing random people. Seems their parents didn't teach them any morals."

"So much was clear," the blonde said. "I'm Emily by the way."

"And I'm Riley," her sister introduced. "Nice to meet you."

"Likewise," the blond said.

Riley checked her watch and started to panic. "Come on, Em! We got to go or else we'll be late and we'll get a punishment!"

"Calm down, Riley. We're not **that **late," Emily said. "Well, we got to go. Thanks, once again!"

The two resumed their way too school running, leaving the blond boy behind on his own.

* * *

The two girls quickly entered the room, panting heavily.

"Sorry we're late," Emily apologized.

"There where some problems on our way," Riley explained. "Luckily a guy helped us."

"A guy?" one of the tallest boys with short black hair swept to the side asked. "Tell us more about your 'amazing hero'."

"I didn't say he was an 'amazing hero', James," Riley retorted.

"I know, because I'm an even more amazing hero," he boasted.

The two soon started an argument.

Meanwhile another girl with black hair and curls at the tip of her walked up to Emily, a sly smile on her face. "Was he cute?"

"Who?" Emily asked, pretending not to know what she was talking about. "I don't know who you are talking about, Stephanie.

"The guy that helped you," the girl answered. "Was he cute?"

Emily placed her bag on the ground with the bags of the others, not facing the black-haired girl. "He was kind of cute."

A slim, blond boy around James' height walked up to the blonde girl too, but it made Emily sigh.

"Not again..." she mumbled. "What is it, Eldon?"

"I was just wondering if you're alright," he answered. "Hey, you, uh, dropped your bag!"

"No, I placed it there," Emily corrected.

Eldon suddenly picked up her bag, giving it back.

"Eldon." Emily's eyes bore right through his. "I placed it on the ground. Leave it there."

The boy blinked a couple of times before swinging her bag over his shoulder.

He could feel everyone giving him strange looks, while Emily only face palmed in shame.

"What?" he asked. "Her bag will get dirty!"

James, a dark skinned boy, and a boy with brown hair started to snicker at him. The guy was trying way too hard.

"Didn't Kate tell us something about a new boy coming in to the school?" a girl with red hair that could easily be mistaken for brown asked.

"Maybe if he's good enough, he can join our group," a dark-skinned girl with brown curly hair suggested.

"Another one in our group?" An older woman walked into the room, coincidentally walking into the room. "The group is already very big."

"That's no problem," Emily assured. "We can switch him in for Michelle."

"Why me?" the blonde girl asked. "I have never done anything wrong."

"Coming here was wrong," Emily said.

Emily didn't like the fact that Michelle got to join the group, mostly because Emily as the group's leader was content with the way the group was now. She was afraid Michelle would mess that up. That, and she didn't like her for reasons unknown.

"There's no time for arguing, girls," Kate said. "Chris will be dueling the new boy in a couple of minutes. As the owner of this school, I need to be present to let him into the school when he wins."

"As the group's leader, I will come with you, Miss Kate," Emily said.

Some of the members looked at each other, thinking it was unfair that only Emily was allowed to come.

Kate and Emily were about to walk out of the room, but Kate stopped in front of the door. "You can come too. After all, every student is allowed to watch the entrance duels."

And together the group left for the duel field.

* * *

Chris was standing at one side, his duel disk ready. On the other side, the duelist wasn't there yet, but he soon got send up with a platform.

On top of the platform was a blond boy, his hands in his pockets. He seemed oddly disinterested.

"That's the guy who helped us out!" Riley said, pointing at him.

"You said he was kind of cute," Stephanie said. "He's very cute."

Emily rolled her eyes.

Kate was already standing ready, a microphone in her hands. "Welcome students, to this entrance duel! On the left is our own teacher, Chris Anders!"

The black man waved at the students in the stands, while Kate continued with her speech.

"And on the right the challenger, Brandon Kanbara!"

The blond only readied his red duel disk, a black arm blade appearing.

Chris smiled for a bit before he started to speak. "Are you ready? Because this is where it begins!"

Brandon said nothing, supporting the fact that he seemed very uninterested at what was happening.

"Duelist locked in battle!" Chris began, sure of it that Brandon would continue.

But when a reaction failed to come, Chris quickly decided to continue on his own, the students helping him.

"Kicking the earth and dancing in the air alongside their monsters!" they all went.

"They storm through this field!" Chris continued.

"Behold! This is the newest and greatest evolution of dueling!" the students all went again.

"Action-" Chris began, action cards being spread all around the duel field.

"Duel!" both Chris and Brandon went. It was the first thing the blond had said since the moment he had entered the duel field.

"I'll start!" Chris said, playing a card. "I summon Bujin - Yamato in attack position!"

Bujin - Yamato, Level 4, 1800/200

"I set one card face-down and end my turn," Chris said, activating the effect of Yamato. "I add Hirume to my hand and discard Bujingi Hetsuka!"

"My turn, draw." The blond added the drawn card to his hand, thinking out all of his options. "I summon Golem Dragon in defense position and end my turn."

A dragon made of boulders appeared on the field, smashing down its claws in a defensive stand.

Golem Dragon, Level 4, 200/2000

**Chris: 4000, Cards x3**

**Brandon: 4000, Cards x5**

Chris drew his card, added it to his hand and revealed the earlier added Hirume to Brandon. "I banish Hetsuka from my grave to special summon Hirume!"

A harsh light could be seen on Chris's side of the field, a feminine monster appearing out of it.

Bujin - Hirume, Level 4, 2000/1000

"Then Arasuda's effect activates from my hand! When a Bujin monster is banished, I can special summon him in defense position!" Chris explained. He slapped the monster on the arm blade, this time a monster with a yellow armor appearing.

Bujin - Arasuda, Level 4, 1600/1900

"Bujin - Yamato, attack Golem Dragon!" Chris ordered, the beast-warrior roaring off towards the dragon. "Bujingi Habakiri's effect activates in my hand! When a Bujin monster battles with one of your monsters, I can discard it to double my monster's attack!"

Chris discarded Habakiri, strengthening Yamato.

Bujin - Yamato: 1800 → 3600

Yamato went on and destroyed Golem Dragon, leaving Brandon open for a direct attack.

"Hirume, direct attack him!"

Hirume obeyed and attacked the boy. Brandon, however, didn't even flinch.

Brandon: 4000 → 2000

"Turn end," Chris announced.

"Now that you had the first hit, I will at least try to play serious," Brandon said, drawing his card. "I activate the effect of Reactan in my hand. By discarding him and another dragon-type monster, I can special summon his adult form to the field."

Brandon discarded two dragon-type monsters, a large earth dragon appearing on the field. "I special summon Dragon Ruler of Boulders - Redox."

Dragon Ruler of Boulders - Redox, Level 7, 1600/3000

"Then I activate the effect of Tempest in my graveyard," Brandon announced. "By banishing two dragon-type monsters from my grave, I can special summon him to my field. I banish Golem Dragon and Reactan!"

A tornado raged onto Brandon's field, wings first appearing out of it before a whole dragon appeared.

Dragon Ruler of Storms - Tempest, Level 7, 2400/2200

"Tempest, attack Yamato," Brandon ordered. "Gale Hurricane!"

Tempest created a tornado that managed to devour Yamato.

Chris: 4000 → 3400

"Mikazuchi's effect activates!" Chris said. "When you destroy a Beast-Warrior Bujin monster, I can special summon him from my hand!"

This time a monster in bleu appeared on the field, having a very weird haircut.

Bujin - Mikazuchi, Level 4, 1900/1500

"I end my turn with that," Brandon announced, making a lot of people frown. Didn't he have a magic or trap card in his hand?

**Chris: 3400, Cards x0**

**Brandon: 2000, Cards x4**

"My turn, draw!" Chris played his drawn card face-down, not having really any other option. "I activate my trap! Tyrant's Coercion! By releasing Arasuda, all of my other monsters will be unaffected by other traps! With that I end my turn."

"Tempest and Redox's effects activates. When they're special summoned , they return to my hand at the end of your turn," Brandon explained.

Tempest disappeared into a tornado, disappearing from the field while Redox went up in dust.

"My turn, draw." Brandon played a magic card from his hand after adding his drawn card to his hand. "Pot of Greed allows me to draw 2 cards."

"Then I normal summon Clone Dragon," he said, a small dragon surrounded with a colorful aura appearing on the field.

And that was the moment Chris needed.

"Trap activate! Raging-Stream Burial!" Chris's trap card flipped open, destroying Clone Dragon. "This card destroys all monsters on the field at the moment a monster is summoned, but because of Tyrant's Coercion my monsters won't be destroyed!"

Brandon didn't even blink when his monster disappeared, instead he continued to look straight ahead.

"I hope that you have a trap card in your hand," Chris admitted. "Or else you have to search for an Action Card."

"Action Cards? Those things are for people who have no confidence in their deck," the blond answered.

The students looked at each other in confusing. They all had confidence in their deck, so why did he say that?

Brandon smirked. It was the first change of expression people had seen from him. "I'll tell you now. All the cards in my hand are monsters."

"All monsters?" Eldon repeated.

"He isn't even able to summon," James said.

"Unless he will use that one summoning," the boy with brown hair said.

"That summoning is only a myth, Daniel," Emily said. "Only _he_ once spoke about Pendulum Summon before his disappearance."

"But what if he can use it," the dark skinned boy said. "Then it's not much of a myth anymore, is it?"

It seemed that Brandon had somehow heard the comments, because he picked 2 cards out of his hand.

**"With the scale 1 Star Stream Dragon and the scale 11 Time Stream Dragon, I'm setting the Pendulum Scale!"**

Two blue pillars appeared, a galaxy-blue dragon in the right one and a green dragon with an arc on its back in the left. The two dragons rose up, a '1' and '11' appearing underneath them.

Star Stream Dragon, Scale 1

Time Stream Dragon, Scale 11

"With these two dragons set in my pendulum scale, I'm able to summon monsters from level 2 all up to 10," Brandon explained.

"All 5!?" Riley exclaimed as she started to panic. "What if they are all so powerful that they can defeat Chris in one hit? How does this guy even use Pendulum Summon in the first place?"

"Maybe he's just using the scales as a bluff because he's unable to really perform a pendulum summon," the redhead girl said.

**"Grand power of my proud soul, unleash yourself so that the light within can draw the outlines of my heart! Pendulum summon! Arise, my fierce dragons!" **Brandon recited.

A large hole opened up between Star Stream Dragon and Time Stream Dragon, 5 beams coming out of it and landing on Brandon's field.

First, the previously returned Redox reappeared. "Dragon Ruler of Boulders - Redox!"

As second, Tempest appeared back on the field with a roar. "Dragon Ruler of Storms - Tempest!"

The third beam took the form of a dragon made out of water, two horns and all other pointy parts on its body. "Dragon Ruler of Waterfalls - Tidal!"

Dragon Ruler of Waterfalls - Tidal, Level 7, 2600/2000

The fourth monster had some sort of lava flowing all over its body. "Dragon Ruler of Blazes - Blaster!"

Dragon Ruler of Blazes - Blaster, Level 7, 2800/1800

**"Arise with your strength directly given to you from the Pendulum, rare dragon with powers unknown to us all! Threat with dual colored eyes, Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon!"**

The fifth beam crashed down upon the field, a red dragon with a red eye and a green eye descending on the field.

Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon, Level 7, 2500/2000, Scale 4

The five dragons stood tall behind the blond, the audience gasping in surprise. No one had ever seen something like that.

"Battle phase," Brandon simply said. "Tempest, attack Mikazuchi. Gale Hurricane!"

The tornado Tempest created destroyed Mikazuchi, Chris' life points lowering.

Chris: 3400 → 2900

"Tidal, destroy Hirume! Tsunami Maelstrom!" Brandon ordered.

The water dragon roared, a tsunami raging over Chris' field. As soon as the tsunami died down without doing any damage, the maelstrom pulled Hirume in, destroying it.

Chris: 2900 → 2300

Chris began to search for action cards, knowing that if Brandon would keep this assault up, it would be over for him.

"You can run, but you can't escape my dragons," Brandon said. "Blaster, direct attack! Volcano Frenzy!"

Blaster roared before charging his attack, the heat becoming unbearable for the people close to the duel field. "Now."

Blaster unleashed its attack at Chris, who managed to grab and activate and action card on time.

"The Action card Avoid. It's not the one you were looking for," Brandon concluded. "I can read it from your face."

Chris gritted his teeth, if he only had a little bit longer for searching the right card, he could have saved himself for one more turn.

"It's okay to be afraid of my dragons. Especially because I have two attacks left, but because it's you, I will only use one of my attacks," Brandon said. "Odd-Eyes."

The dragon roared as it turned its head to its owner.

"Destroy everything in your path with those dual colored eyes of yours," Brandon ordered. "Spiral Strike Burst!"

The dragon's eyes started to glow as it's attack hit Chris, depleting his last life points.

Chris: 2300 → 0

**Brandon: WIN**

The monsters disappeared behind the blond, just like the blond himself. He left the duel field as soon as he could, having absolutely no business over there anymore.

Kate stood up from her seat in the stands, addressing Emily and the rest of the group. "You need to make sure that boy joins our group, understand that?"

"You can leave it to me, Kate," Emily assured.

"Very well then," Kate said before leaving.

Everyone looked at the door the blond boy had left through, completely perplexed by what he had just done.

Emily watched it all with a smile. _If he's really coming into our school, things could get really fun._

* * *

**Chapter one is done and because of that I would like to say that:**

**The two pendulum monsters are self created cards, because outside of Odd-Eyes, there's no Dragon-type pendulum monster yet. Because I'm not someone who likes too many self created cards, I will try to keep them at a limited amount.**

**Not every character has his/her name revealed yet. The remaining names will be revealed in later chapters, probably 2, if this will become a whole fic. **

**And like I said, I'm not really sure of turning this into a full fic, so if you like it, I would love to hear it. Any suggestions or anything else? I would also love to hear those. And if you got a better title, please let me know.**

**Now, I hope you enjoyed the chapter and I wish all of you a nice day.**

**See ya!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Good day, everyone!**

**As you know, I published the first chapter of this Arc-V story, not knowing if people would want a full story of that.**

**But I received 8 favorites, 7 follows and 4 positive reviews! This is something that means a lot to me, because I mean look at that number. That's a lot for someone like me.**

**And that's why I have decided to make this a full fanfic! It'll be quite some work, especially with also having a second story running. But I will try my best for you guys.**

**So without further ado, I present you chapter 2!**

**I hope you will enjoy it!**

**I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh! Arc-V. I only own my OC's.**

* * *

The mysterious new duelist! Pendulum user, Brandon Kanbara!

* * *

The confetti fell down in large amounts since the moment his monster destroyed his opponent's. It won him the match.

And with it the tournament.

"And the winner is Brandon Kanbara!" the commentator excitingly shouted through the microphone.

The boy eagerly accepted the trophy that easily was half his size, a large grin on his face while doing so.

An adult woman, probably his mom, watched it with a tear in her eye. Her little boy had won his first big tournament!

The boy soon returned back inside, towards the locker room that also served as the waiting room before a duel.

But when he entered the locker room, he heard someone clapping.

"Congratulations," a voice spoke.

Brandon was sure that the voice belonged to an adult man. But who was it? What was he doing in here in the first place?

"Thank you..." the blond boy reluctantly responded.

The man could hear confusion in the boy's voice, but also a little bit of hostility.

"I take it that you're wondering who I am," the man said.

The man could see the young boy nod slightly. The man seemed to smirk for a bit before he stepped into the light, making the young boy gasp.

"I have a proposal for you," the man said. "You are allowed refuse if you don't want to."

The boy said nothing, instead clutching his trophy tighter.

"Do you want to join me?"

The young boy raised an eyebrow. 'Do you want to join me'? Did that man just ask him to leave his mom to go live with him?

"I can see that you're confused," the man said. "So allow me to explain."

The man didn't start to explain immediately. Instead he waited on a sign from the boy. The sign was there in the nod he gave.

"Join me and I will train you. You don't have to move away. If you accept, I will train you to become the best duelist in the world!" the man explained.

The man extended his hand to the boy, making him step back. "So will you join me?"

Could he trust this man? He didn't even know him! What if he was the same as **him**?

But the 'best duelist in the world' part appealed to the boy. If this man could really make him that good, then why would he refuse?

The young boy placed his trophy down, proving to be quite a heavy task for him because of it's weight. For a piece of metal it was quite heavy.

The boy took the hand of the man, shaking it. "I will join you."

The man smiled, but the 'but' of the boy made that smile fade a little.

"But I want to stay with my mom! I'm not coming to live with you!"

The man smiled. He knew what the boy meant. Seemed the kid misunderstood that part.

The man placed his other hand down on the boy's head, ruffling his hair.

"Of course you can, little man. Of course you can."

* * *

The voice of the woman awoke him out of his trip through memory lane. He opened his eyes, still giving him the sight of the halls they were walking through.

_That was 8 years ago..._ he remembered. _But if you really wanted that, then why did you sent me to this school, master?_

"I'm sure that you will like your class," the woman said. "I placed you in a class where most of our top duelists are in."

The boy didn't say a thing. The woman took it that he wasn't really a man of words.

They ultimately reached the classroom not too many minutes after, entering it without any warning.

The children looked up when they saw Kate walk in. Surely one of them was in trouble.

However, the blond boy from before soon followed her into the room, his uninterested attitude still present.

"Everyone, this is Brandon," Kate introduced. "As you all might know, he's new and will join your class, starting from today. Brandon, would you like to introduce yourself?"

"Not really," he immediately responded.

"Alright then..." Kate said with an awkward tone.

The teacher took over, gesturing to a table in front of the class. "You can sit there."

But the blond quickly refused that. "I'll take the empty seat in the back."

"That's fine too," the teacher said.

"Be nice to him and make him feel at home," Kate said.

"Yes, miss Kate!" the whole class went.

"Well, I'll be going now. Have a nice day, everyone."

And as soon as she came, she left.

Emily couldn't suppress the small smile that had appeared on her face. Unbelievable that from all the classes he could be put into, he got put into her's!

But she didn't forgot what Kate had said. She needed to make sure he would join their group.

And he would join her group. She was sure of that.

* * *

The bell rang, signaling the end of the class. Everyone got up and left the class as soon as they could.

Luckily for Emily, Brandon wasn't very fast with leaving the back of the class as fast as he got there.

"Hey," she greeted.

The boy looked at her, a small smirk forming on his face. "Hey."

"I'm Emily," she introduced. _For real? He knows who I am! He'll start to think that I'm an idiot!  
_

Brandon looked at the girl. Blonde shoulder length hair being held back by a diadem, blue eyes. It was definitely the girl from earlier today.

"I know," he said. "I helped you and your sister out, didn't I?"

"That's us," she said, nervously laughing. "Anyway, would you like to spend the break with me and my friends?"

The blond stayed silent for a while, thinking about the option. He wasn't there to make friends, but it would help him to finish his mission quickly. The quicker he finished that, the quicker he could go back to his own school.

"Sure," he said, packing the last of his belongings, swinging his backpack over his shoulder when he was done. "You'll have to lead the way though."

The two entered the hallway, and Brandon just followed Emily the whole walk.

It was strange for Emily. He was silent, a little bit too silent.

But compared with the other guys, this guy was a gift send from above with his silence. Maybe because those boys were always so loud, this guy seemed too quiet.

The two soon stood in front of a door to Brandon's confusion. Break at his previous school was always outside. What were these peoples for hermits?

Emily held the doorknob in her hand, looking back at the blond boy for a bit. "Come on, they don't bite."

"I'm just waiting for you to open the door" he said. "Oh and by the way..."

"Hm?"

"I don't think that you're an idiot."

Emily blinked once... twice... even a third time. "How did you?"

"Everybody thinks someone will think that people will believe you're an idiot when you introduce to that person twice on the same day," Brandon explained.

The look on her face was priceless. He wasn't on the school to make friends or do anything other than executing his mission, but messing with this girl was quite fun.

"You're allowed to open the door, you know."

"Right."

She turned the doorknob, opening the door. And what the boy saw inside made his eyes widen.

To say it was chaos was an understatement.

* * *

He could see Riley and a tall black-haired boy argue.

Then there was a dark skinned boy and a boy with his hair swept to the side arguing with each other about which dueling style is better.

Then there where 3 other girls. The dark skinned girl with her curly hair tied in a large bun and Stephanie looked at everything with disgust. Those kids really needed some order. The redhead girl just looked at everything with concern.

The only people who actually _seemed_ to be calm were Michelle and Eldon, but even that changed when Eldon noticed Emily coming in.

The boy quickly approached Emily, greeting her for the umpteenth time that day. "Hey Emily."

"What is it, Eldon?" the blonde asked, clearly annoyed.

"Nothing, just um..." the boy's eyes nervously wandered all over the place. "Want a cookie?"

Brandon couldn't help but laugh at the boy. (Inwardly of course. He's too cool to display emotion.) He made himself look stupid in front of everyone. Not that everyone was paying attention.

"I don't have time for this nonsense," Emily growled. "I need to get everyone calm."

Upon hearing that, Brandon readied his duel disk and picked out a card out of his deck.

"Odd-Eyes, calm this bunch of kids, if you'd like," he said, slapping the card on the disk blade.

The red dragon appeared on the room, not being noticed until it unleashed a roar.

Everyone looked at the direction the roar came from. They all remembered the dragon from earlier on the day.

Which meant that it's owner was present too.

The boy leaned with his back against the dragon, arms crossed.

"Thanks," Emily said.

"You're welcome," Brandon answered as he took the card of the arm blade, Odd-Eyes disappearing.

"As you can see," Emily started, gesturing to Brandon, "we have a new boy joining our group."

Brandon raised an eyebrow. "Joining? I never said anything about joining."

"Right. About that-"

"Joining?" Riley asked.

"Don't we get to say something about that too?" James asked.

"Shouldn't you introduce me to these people first? I only know one of all these people," Brandon said, his eyes falling on Riley. "Yo."

"Hey," Riley greeted back, making James frown.

"So that's the big hero," James joked.

A dark skinned boy walked up to Brandon, offering him a hand, one that the blond took. "The name's Lamar West. Nice to meet you."

"Nice to meet you too."

James placed his hand on Lamar's shoulder, urging him to move. "There are also other people who want to show off to the new one."

"Just like you show off to all the girls?" Riley asked.

"Anyway, I'm James," he said with a grin. "James Trevorson."

"Brandon," Brandon introduced. "Riley always putting you in your place?"

"Don't even worry about it," James said.

"Worrying about things isn't really my thing," Brandon said.

Brandon's eye fell on the boy with his hair swept to the right. He had quite the disgusted look on his face.

"Who's the prissy boy?" Brandon asked.

"I'm not a prissy boy. I'm Daniel," the boy introduced.

"You aren't? From what I could hear you were quite disgusted about Lamar's kind of dueling," Brandon said, having heard a little bit of their argument. "Therefore, from now on, you are prissy boy to me."

Some of the teens looked at the blond. He was making enemies already. Even though Daniel couldn't really be seen as an enemy. The guy hated drama. And picking a fight with this guy definitely fell in the category 'drama'.

The blond looked further across the room. Michelle saw him looking at her and thus she decided to introduce herself too. "Hi, I'm Michelle."

The boy smirked for no real reason. "Well, I'm not going to repeat my name constantly."

"It's fine," the blond assured, making the blond boy change his gaze to somewhere else.

The three girls in the corner were the target this time.

"Paris Pollany."

"Stephanie Grecchiano."

"Chloe Jennas," the redhead introduced.

"If that wasn't monotone then I don't know what else is," the blond remarked, referring at the way Stephanie and Paris introduced themselves. It earned him a disgusted look from both.

The blond turned back to Emily. "Now what was it about joining? I only remember agreeing to having break with these people."

Eldon looked at it and didn't like it. This boy obviously was the boy that had helped her this morning. Emily even admitted it. Then they come walk in together and then he just starts to speak to Emily like that? And she's fine with it too?

He needed to something. Even if it was only to impress Emily.

But what he did might have been the most stupid thing he could do.

"Hey!" He pushed the blond boy away slightly, with something that needed to look like a glare in his eyes. "Don't be so rude to her!"

The blond looked at the boy with an unimpressed look in his eyes. "What's wrong, wimp? Aren't I allowed to ask things?"

"Well... yes... but..." He now looked at the blond with a confident look. "You don't have to be so rude."

"Eldon, it's fine," Emily said. To be honest, she didn't even know if that was rude. The guy couldn't help it that his voice was naturally deeper than the other's.

But Eldon didn't listen, instead he got closer to the blond boy. Very close.

They were now probably a few millimeter apart from each other, Eldon looking down the slightly shorter blond.

The blond shot the taller boy a death glare, making Eldon panic a little bit.

"Has nobody ever taught you that you don't need to pick fights you can't win?" Brandon asked, a slight bit of hostility present in his voice.

Eldon didn't know what to do. He didn't know what to say either. He had never expected this boy to be so... frightening_. _So far for impressing Emily... He was completely frozen.

Brandon's glare disappeared because he closed his eyes, a smirk forming on his lips. "I know a way to solve all this."

"And that is?" Eldon finally found some words he could use, even if it were the wrong ones.

"We duel. If you win I won't talk to your 'girlfriend' ever again and I will join your little club if you want me to."

Eldon smiled for a little bit. Brandon had just called Emily his girlfriend, even it was just sarcastically.

Emily herself cringed on that part.

"But if I win, I'm free to go and do as I wish."

There didn't come an immediate answer on his proposal. Mostly because Eldon didn't know what to do.

The guy had defeated Chris without any trouble, using Pendulum summon to do so. How was he supposed to play against that?

"Not so big now, are you, wimp?" Brandon was provoking him good. The guy sure knew how to intimidate people.

"Eldon accepts."

The two looked at Emily, who stood with her hands on her hips.

"Perfect," Brandon said, a dangerous look in his eyes.

Emily noticed the look Eldon gave her. She had to make sure that he would willingly duel Brandon.

"This is your chance to show me what you got, Eldon," Emily said, the tone in her voice becoming suspiciously soft.

And while everyone noticed what Emily was doing, Eldon didn't. And thus, he agreed with a smile.

* * *

"Ready, wimp?" Brandon asked, a serious look on your face. "Not that it matters. I'll crush you anyway."

"Ready," Eldon confidently answered.

"I'll show you that you should never start a fight you can't win," Brandon said.

"DUEL!"

"I will start!" Eldon announced, drawing his card. "I summon Elemental Hero Blazeman!"

A warrior with flames that appeared to be hair appeared on the field, activating it's effect. "When Blazeman is normal or special summoned, I get to add Fusion to my hand!"

Elemental Hero Blazeman, Level 4, 1200/1800

Eldon picked out the Fusion card out of his deck, showing it to Brandon before adding it to his hand.

"I set one card face-down. Turn end."

"My turn. Draw." The blond added his drawn card to his hand, picking out a monster card. "I summon Alexandridragon."

A jeweled dragon appeared on the field with a roar.

Alexandridragon, Level 4, 2000/0

"Alexandridragon, destroy Blazeman," Brandon ordered.

The dragon destroyed Blazeman with a beam that shone just as bright as the jewels on itself, blinding the monster for a bit before it got destroyed.

"Trap activate!" Eldon shouted, his face-down activating. "Hero Signal allows me to special summon one level 4 or lower Elemental Hero monster from my hand or deck. And I special summon Elemental Hero The Heat!"

Elemental Hero The Heat, Level 4, 1600/1200

"The Heat's ability activates! He gains 200 attack for each Elemental Hero I control!" Eldon explained, The Heat's attack rising.

Elemental Hero The Heat: 1600 → 1800

Eldon: 4000 → 3200

"Turn end."

"What?" Riley asked. "No face-down? Again?"

**Eldon: 3200, Cards x4**

**Brandon: 4000, Cards x5**

"My turn! Draw! I summon Elemental Hero Flash in defense position!"

A warrior in a blue spandex appeared on the field, giving off sparks.

Elemental Hero Flash, Level 4, 1100/1600

"And now The Heat's attack increases again!" Eldon said, The Heat's attack rising again. "Turn end!"

Elemental Hero The Heat: 1800 → 2000

Eldon: Cards x4

Brandon: Cards x5

"Draw." Brandon removed Alexandridragon from the arm blade, placing another card on its place instead. "I release Alexandridragon to advance summon Magic-Equipped Sacred Dragon Etherweapon."

Alexandridragon disappeared from the field, a golden dragon taking its place.

Magic-Equipped Sacred Dragon Etherweapon, Level 6, 2300/1600

"Sacred Dragon, destroy The Heat," Brandon ordered.

Etherweapon released a golden beam from its mouth, destroying The Heat.

Eldon: 3200 → 2900

"You're lucky that I don't have multiple monsters to keep my assault up," Brandon said. "But I'll tell you know, I'm able to Pendulum summon on my next turn, so you should be fast if you want to prevent that."

Eldon gritted his teeth. He needed to do something fast.

He wouldn't lose to a big show off.

**Eldon: 2900, Cards x4**

**Brandon: 4000, Cards x5**

* * *

Kate remembered the only thing she didn't like from her work. The paperwork.

Luckily for her, it was just 1 student transferring instead of a whole lot. And luckily, Chris was there to help her. Making him the head dueling examiner has been a good choice.

She flipped through the papers of Brandon, a lot of his data present on it. But there was one thing that caught her eye when she flipped through.

His dueling achievements.

"Chris. Look at this," she ordered, as Chris looked at it over her shoulder.

"Those are quite the tournaments to win," Chris said, remembering a few of them. "He's really good."

"Exactly. He's too good," Kate said. "Why would a duelist with achievements like these want to attend this school? There surely must be some kind of elite school that has already offered him a place in their school!"

"Does it matter?" Chris asked, making Kate frown. "He decided to come to this school, so I don't really see a problem."

"Right."

Kate went through the last bit of paperwork, finishing the transfer of the blond boy.

But she still thought it was strange that someone like him would want to go to their school.

A little bit too strange.

* * *

"My turn! Draw!" Eldon activated a card that he had added to his hand on his first turn: Fusion. "I activate Fusion from my hand!"

The Heat and Lady Heat swirled together, the vortex of Fusion appearing in the background. **"Fiery hero of justice! Become one with the feminine flame! Fusion summon! Appear, Elemental Hero Nova Master!"**

On the field stepped a warrior with red and yellow armor, a red cape draped around his shoulders.

Elemental Hero Nova Master, Level 8, 2600/2100

"Fusion summon," Brandon noticed. "From all the strong summonings you could use, you decided to use the weakest and the easiest? Pathetic."

"Pathetic? But Fusion summon is one of the summonings only the elite use," Eldon said.

"I know. But it still is the weakest and the easiest. That's all," Brandon stated. "But it's still your turn, so go ahead and destroy Sacred Dragon."

Eldon immediately did as told, ordering Nova Master to destroy Sacred Dragon. "Nova Master, destroy Sacred Dragon!"

Nova Master's fist got engulfed in fire, punching Sacred Dragon to destruction with it.

Brandon: 4000 → 3700

"Nova Master's effect activates! When he destroys a monster in battle, I'm allowed to draw one card!" Eldon explained as he drew his card, adding it to his hand. "I place one card face-down and end my turn."

"My turn. Draw."

At the exact moment Brandon drew his card, Eldon's trap opened, making the former frown.

"With Disturbance Strategy you are forced to shuffle your whole hand back in your deck!" Eldon explained.

Brandon first showed Eldon all the cards in his hand, Time stream Dragon, Star stream Dragon and Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon present in it.

Afterwards he returned them to his deck, shuffling it after he was done.

"Now you're allowed to draw the same number of cards you discarded," Eldon explained.

Brandon drew his 6 cards, looking at them with a serious expression.

He suddenly started to clap, making everyone frown. "Bravo. You prevented me from Pendulum summoning. Not bad for a wimp like you."

"Thanks!" Eldon said, not sure if it was an insult or a compliment. "I guess..."

"However, I don't only have Pendulum summon to crush you with. Instead, I have something else up my sleeve." Brandon played a magic card from his hand, the card brightly glowing.

"I can now perform two normal summons this turn because of Dual Summon," Brandon explained as he picked out 2 other cards out of his hand. "And thus, I normal summon Core Chimail Drago and Ancient Dragon."

A blue dragon and a clawless dragon appeared on the field with roars.

Core Chimail Drago, Level 4, 1900/1600

Ancient Dragon, Level 4, 1400/1300

Eldon looked towards Brandon and saw a certain look in his eyes. One that meant that he was up to something, something that could be dangerous.

"It's time that I show you a real summoning," Brandon said, addressing his two monsters. **"Level 4 Drago, Ancient Dragon, overlay!"**

The two dragons turned into beams, disappearing into a large slow swirling hole.

**"With these two monsters I build the overlay network! Created from pitch-black darkness, armed with mighty treacherous fangs. To rebel against those foolish enough to oppose you! Descend now, rebellious part of my soul! Xyz summon! Rank 4! Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon!"**

The monster formed itself inside of the hole, making the overlay network explode when it was formed. A black dragon took it's placed behind Brandon with a loud roar, smoke created by its summoning.

Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon, Rank 4, 2500/2000, Overlay units: 2

"Xyz summon!" Riley exclaimed.

"But what's the point in summoning a monster that's weaker than Nova Master?" James asked out loud.

"Seems he isn't as good as he thinks he is," Daniel stated.

It made Brandon smirk. "Seems you guys are unaware of my Dark Rebellion or any other monster in my deck. My dragons are able to crush everyone with ease. They will devour you even faster than you can put up a defense. The same goes for Dark Rebellion, undoubtedly one of the strongest dragons in my deck, if not the strongest."

"What's your point?" Stephanie asked from the sidelines.

"Allow me to show you," Brandon answered. "By detaching the soul of my soul's rebellious part. Treason Discharge!"

Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon: Overlay units: 2 → 1

Dark Rebellion's wings 'opened', purple sparks coming out of it, heading towards Nova Master. The sparks held Nova Master in their grip, tying him together. Dark Rebellion roared as it saw Nova Master struggling, his attack dropping.

Elemental Hero Nova Master: 2600 → 1300

Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon: 2500 → 3800

"What!?" Eldon went. "But how!?"

"Treason Discharge halves the attack of one of your monsters until the end phase, increasing the strength of Dark Rebellion with that same amount," Brandon explained.

Eldon's eyes widened, but Brandon wasn't done yet.

"Dark Rebellion's effect isn't a once per turn effect, which means that I can use Treason Discharge as often as I like in a turn, as long as there are overlay units," Brandon explained. "Treason Discharge."

Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon: Overlay units: 1 → 0

The same process from earlier repeated itself, making Dark Rebellion roar once again. Eldon stood powerless against it. That monster was really something else.

Elemental Hero Nova Master: 1300 → 650

Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon: 3800 → 4450

"Are you ready to behold the strength of a real monster?" Brandon rhetorically asked. "Battle!"

Eldon desperately checked his field and hand. Maybe, just maybe there was a card there that could help him.

But to his disappointment, there was no card that could save him. He should have made the guy agree to an Action Duel.

The orbs on Dark Rebellion's wings started to glow, blue thunder sparks surging through the monster's wings, the horn on its chin getting enveloped in bright light. (Is it even a horn? Or is it some kind of strange saber-tooth?"

"Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon. Rebellious Lightning **Disobey**."

The dragon roared as it flew off towards Nova Master, impaling him through the chest with its horn, purple sparks flying around upon contact.

Nova Master went up in smoke from the attack, Eldon being knocked back from the power.

Eldon: 2900 → 0

**Brandon: WIN**

Dark Rebellion disappeared from the field and Brandon turned away from Eldon.

"Do you see now? The strength of Xyz, the strength of my dragons. It far exceeds yours," Brandon said. "I hope you learned that you shouldn't start a fight you will never win."

The blond boy walked towards the door, placing his hand on the doorknob. "I'm out of here. If you want me to join this little club of yours, make sure that you're at a decent level instead of this amateurish level."

At the same moment the blond threw the door behind him to a close, the bell rang, signaling the end of the break.

* * *

"What are we waiting on?" the boy asked. The 2 that needed to be present were present. What was the man waiting for?

At that moment, the door opened, the blond boy the man waited on stepping into the room.

"Kanbara?" the boy asked. "What are you doing here?"

"Yeah, you're on that lowly school now," the second boy said.

"Only for my mission," he simply said, bowing down in front of the turned chair. "Master. I've already found something that might be interesting."

The two others bowed down too, still not sure what Brandon was doing in the room while he switched schools. Even if it was only for his mission.

"What is it that might be so interesting, Brandon?" the man asked, not turning his chair.

The boy smirked before he answered.

"One of the students on that school uses Elemental Heroes."

The chair turned, the man now facing the 3 teens. "Elemental Heroes you say?"

Brandon nodded. "Yes. The archetype that's focused around Fusion summon."

"Excellent," the man said.

The two other teens shot each other a look. The man liked everything Brandon did. If he would kill someone without any reason, the man would still compliment him on doing it. They still didn't understand why the man did that.

And now that he came with something that interested master, Brandon would climb even more on the 'Master's favorite duelists tree'. For as far as that was possible for him.

The man squeezed his eyes together slightly, interested in what Brandon had told him.

"Please. Tell me more."

* * *

**Woo! Elemental Heroes baby!**

**I know that some of you won't like it, mostly because they have already been used by Judai, but I think that the Elemental Heroes are really fitting for Arc-V because of their focus around Fusion summoning.**

**Of course, I will try to use the more 'unknown' heroes or the ones of the manga or whatever people call it.**

**I have already thought of the decks for other characters too, but I'm still not sure about 2 of them. If you have any suggestions for a deck type, I would love to hear it.**

**I hope you enjoyed this chapter and hope that you like my decision to make this a full fic. I wish all of you a nice day.**

**See ya!**


	3. Chapter 3

**I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh! Arc-V. I only own the OC's.**

* * *

A new recruit! S-Rank duelist, Brandon Kanbara!

* * *

"Shouldn't you be at that other school right now?"

The black-haired boy looked at this comrade with a questioning look. He was aware of the fact that he was attending another school for certain purposes but why was he here then?

The blond shook his head. "I don't feel like hanging out there. Their duel skills are despicable."

"You discovered that already?"

The blond nodded. "They have a select group of duelists. Probably their Master Rank. But those people are equal to our third rank."

"That's not very good, is it?"

There didn't follow an answer. Instead, a question followed.

"When are you coming to join me at Master Rank, Kai?" he asked. "You're not worse than Marcellos with his friggin' circus animals."

The black haired boy shot the blond a confused look before a small smile appeared on his face. "I'm flattered that you think that I belong there with you, but I don't belong there. I'm kicking back to often for that."

The blond raised an amused eyebrow at his friend. "Out of the three Master Rank duelists, I'm the one who slacks off the most and look where I stand."

"But you are way better than me in every way. You have more natural skill, you have trained much more as a kid and your motivation to be the best is one of the greatest," the boy explained.

"And look what it brought me. Master sent me to the Your Move Duel School. If that isn't a punishment than I don't know what else is..." the boy sighed.

"Master has his reasons for sending you there I guess..." Kai muttered. "How many summonings have you used already?"

"Xyz and Pendulum."

"Pendulum?" Kai repeated. "Already?"

"Master told me not to hold back," Brandon answered. "So I won't."

Kai chuckled a bit before answering. "You really are one of a kind. Someone with a mission like yours would try to stay low."

The blond shrugged. "It's difficult staying low when a lot of people already know you."

"A lot of people, except them it seems," Kai laughed.

Kai didn't know what time it was. But he saw a lot of students heading inside. It was probably time to start classes.

But Brandon was still there while he should be on another school.

"Shouldn't you go?" Kai asked. "Classes at your school will also start around now."

"This is my school," the blond answered.

"The other school."

The blond shrugged. "I'll just say I couldn't find where I needed to be because I'm new."

The two boys did a weird handshake with each other before parting ways.

But Kai shot a worrisome look at the leaving boy, the story the blond told him fresh in his mind.

"Why would Master want to send our best duelist away...?"

* * *

"Come on! Think harder!" Emily ordered.

She was clearly annoyed by what happened yesterday. The one chance they had to get that guy in their group and Eldon messed up.

Great. Just great.

"Just ask Kate to put him in our group," James said. "It's the easiest way to do so and then Kate's happy that he's in our group and you are happy because you succeeded."

"No. I'm the leader. Kate gave me the assignment to get him in," Emily said. "If Kate lets him in, then I have failed as a leader!"

"Just let him start in the lowest group and then he can work himself up," Daniel said. "We all needed to do that!"

"I didn't," West said. "I started in C-Rank."

"Why does Kate want him in this group anyway?" Stephanie asked, clearly annoyed. "Just because he can use Pendulum summon?"

"We don't even know what he can really do," Paris continued. "He was lucky that he had the right cards in his hand. He only used one magic card in all two duels!"

"But his deck is deadly," Riley butted in. "Those Dragon Rulers, the Pendulum monsters and that Xyz monster."

"And he beat Eldon, the best duelist in here," Michelle said. "So he must have some skill in him."

"Some skill?" James asked, quite astonished that they called it 'some skill'. "While his personality needs working on, his skills are for real!"

"I really appreciate the compliment."

Everyone looked up to the direction the voice came from. The blond boy leaned against the doorpost with his back, arms crossed.

"What are you doing here?" Eldon asked.

The boy smirked. "Kate placed me in your highest rank. S-Rank, if I recall correct."

"Kate did that?!" Emily asked.

The blond nodded. "Seems she was greatly impressed with my skill. Can't blame her. Now, I'm going to chill in that corner every time I'm here. Don't even bother to try to come in contact with me."

He walked past everyone on his way to the corner, laying down with his arms behind his head.

"I remember him being nicer..." Riley muttered.

"That guy has some guts...!" Paris disgustedly said.

Kate walked into the room the same moment Brandon had settled in the corner, an unamused expression on her face.

"Seeing that you failed to recruit him on your own, it was necessary for me to place him in A-Rank," Kate explained. She quickly addressed Emily, placing her hands on her hips. "I really hope that this was just an incident, Emily. It was disappointing for me that you failed. I'm not used to that."

"I'm sorry," she apologized. "It won't happen again. I don't know where it went wrong."

"You tried to let that Eldon guy beat me. That's where it went wrong," Brandon sneered. "Fusion summon. What a joke."

"I wish we could say that about Pendulum summon and Xyz summon too..." Chloe admitted.

* * *

"It seems Brandon Kanbara has switched schools."

The teen looked at the data with a blank face.

"Knowing that man, he probably had his reasons for making Kanbara switch."

"Sir. Why is it that you carry an interest in Brandon Kanbara?" a man, clothed in a black suit with a black tie asked. "You are monitoring him for quite some time now."

The teen turned his chair, looking over the city through the large window in his office.

"Is it because he carries Pendulum monsters with him?" the man asked when an answer failed to come.

"It's not that. Even though I won't deny that the Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon is an impressive monster," the teen admitted. "However, my reason is simple."

He turned towards the man, placing his elbows on his desk, his fingers intertwined in front of his face. "I just really want to duel him."

"Duel him?"

The teen rose out of his chair, multiple screens appearing. The teen watched over the city as he started to talk.

"Despite the age difference of 2 years that's between us, I really want to duel him. As you know I was seen as a dueling prodigy in my age category. However, Brandon Kanbara was that in his age category. He topped every tournament he participated in. He dominated in his age category."

One of the screens showed a picture of the blond boy with a large trophy in his hands, a large grin on his face.

"So did you, Sir."

"I know. But despite that, I really want to duel Brandon Kanbara. I love good duels. I'm sure of it that Brandon Kanbara can give me that," the teen revealed.

"But Sir, I've seen your deck. Brandon Kanbara wouldn't stand a chance against you," the man said.

"So you think," the teen said, an amused smile on his face. "But have you seen Brandon Kanbara's deck?"

The man shook his head. "Can't say that I have."

"Exactly." The display on the screens changed, this time duel monsters were present on it. "Brandon Kanbara, also called the Dragonic Emperor by many, is the owner of the Dragon Rulers."

"T-The Dragon Rulers?!" the man said, not believing what he had heard. "The highly sought after Dragon-type cards?"

"The few that have witnessed them say that they are overpowered, however, I think that's not the case," the teen admitted. "I think it's the way Brandon Kanbara uses them that makes them overpowered."

"Is he that good?" the man asked.

"You think they call him the Dragonic Emperor for fun?" the teen sarcastically asked. "He is able to use the strength of his Dragon Rulers and the other dragons to do his bidding. The way he uses them makes them more destructive than they are supposed to be. He's the one positioned higher than any Dragon Ruler: The Dragonic Emperor. Standing far above and ruling over the rest."

"But the Dragon Rulers are only a group of 8 cards. A deck is composed of at least 40. Which means that your deck is stronger overall," the man said.

"I'm flattered that you think my deck is stronger, but mine and Brandon Kanbara's deck share similarities," the teen answered.

"Similarities?" the man repeated. "That seems high unlikely to me."

"Both our decks have Pendulum monsters and have a focus on quickly summoning monster from our extra deck," the teen revealed. "It allows Brandon Kanbara to bring out his strongest monsters."

"Strongest monsters?" the man asked. "I thought you said the Dragon Rulers were his strongest monsters."

"I never said that. They are the strongest monsters in his main deck, except for one. But the ones in his extra deck, plus the one in his main deck, are his strongest," the teen said. "Pendulum Dragon, Xyz Dragon and the Synchro Dragon."

"Now you're really making me wonder as a lover of dueling, Sir," the man said. "A duel between you and Brandon Kanbara... I wonder who would be the victor."

"I have been wondering about that for a long time too," the teen admitted. "Luckily, it won't be much longer anymore. I'm convinced of it that Brandon Kanbara and I shall clash."

"And I'm looking forward to that day," the man honestly said.

The teen smiled, turning to the man.

"I am too... I am too."

* * *

"Brandon managed to become one of them. Their highest rank, S-Rank," Master said. "I'm entrusting you with the same mission as him, but I'm sending you to another school."

The dark-skinned boy said nothing, making Master frown. "Or might it be that you don't have the ambition to overthrow Brandon Kanbara anymore?"

"Of course I want that," the dark-skinned boy said. "That spot needs to belong to someone who deserves it."

"Deserve it?" Master started to laugh at the boy. "Oh Marcellos. You're envy is so deep that you think Brandon doesn't deserve his spot."

Marcellos looked up with a semi-shocked expression. What was the man trying to say?

"I know that there is a rivalry between my three Master Rank duelists, but Brandon is far ahead of you, Marcellos," the man told him. "So if you want to overthrow him, you should try really hard."

"How about Justin, is he far ahead of me too?" Marcellos asked.

"He isn't far ahead of you. Just a little bit." Master chuckled. "Seems his great dislike for Brandon drives him forward."

Marcellos gritted his teeth. Master seemed to notice it.

"That's right, Marcellos. Out of the three Master Rank duelists, you are the weakest, even though you are the most hardworking," the man said. "If you only had the hunger of Justin or the pure talent of Brandon, you would have been able to stand on top."

"Are you saying I should become like them!?" Marcellos asked, clearly annoyed.

"Just as I thought. Justin and Brandon both know their shortcomings, but have confidence in the other things they got. They can handle my critique and use it to get stronger," Master explained. "It seems you can't do that. Maybe you aren't suitable enough for the Master Rank."

"I am suitable enough, Master. I will show you during this mission. I will complete it faster than Kanbara will complete his," he promised.

"Very well. But remember, work hard to stay at Master Rank. There are enough Hyper Rank duelists able and wanting to take your place."

"I won't forget that, Master."

* * *

"Brandon. What are you doing here?" Master asked. "You have already reported for today."

"Master. If it's not too much trouble, I would like to request extra training from you," the blond asked. "Now that I'm at a school that makes me slack off, I need to strengthen myself in another way."

"It's good to know that the motivation you once held hasn't decreased," Master said. "But are you ready to go through all that again?"

"My motivation to be the best has only become stronger, especially with what's coming soon," the blond admitted. "I'm ready to go through every pain I need to."

"And then there are people who say you don't deserve your spot," Master mused. "This is why you are the best duelist here."

"Who says that, if I may ask?"

"Marcellos. And I'm sure that Justin says it too, but in his mind."

"I see. So they want to overthrow me."

"Don't you feel threatened?" Master asked.

"It's a reminder that my feeling is right. I need to become stronger. Not because I want to stay the strongest Master Rank duelist, but because I want to become the best duelist in the world..." the boy spoke. "This only reminds me that there are a lot of people sharing the same dream as me."

"Do you want to become stronger, keeping a possible clash between you and him in mind?"

"Clash with who?"

"The one you hold big respect towards," Master answered. "The other duel child prodigy."

Brandon smirked, clearly amused. "Indirectly, it prepares me for our clash."

"You're really looking forward to it. I can see it in your eyes," Master said. "They gain an unusual spark in them when it's brought up."

"He's strong. He can give me a duel that makes my blood boil. A duel that makes the dragon inside of me roar of excitement," Brandon admitted. "I haven't been able to find an opponent like that yet..."

"I see. I'll contact you about your training soon."

The boy smirked, a thankful expression present on his face. "Thank you, Master. I'll work hard when the time comes."

"As expected."

The boy bowed to the man before leaving, heading home.

"The very Dragonic Emperor clashing with that guy, huh?" Master's face adopted an amused smile. "I'm really looking forward to that."

* * *

"Kanbara."

The blond boy stopped his walk through the long hall, glancing to his right.

"Jason."

Said boy got near the boy, a scowl upon his face. "What do you know about that Fusion guy?"

"Calm down. They don't seem evil," Brandon said. "I doubt that they have any relation to them. Besides, it's normal for people nowadays to use Fusion."

"You can never be too careful," Jason said. "And you are never careful."

"It's only one person that used Fusion. Once there are more people displaying Fusion, Master will be informed of it," Brandon spoke.

"You have to let me know first! That way I can already defeat them!" Jason said.

"Shut up. Master will know first. I'm sure that you will know it soon too, being the leader of that group," Brandon stated. "But you should watch what you're saying. If Master hears that... He can throw you out of his school without hesitation."

"I know," he admitted. "Sorry for my tone."

"It's fine. I understand your feelings," Brandon said. "But don't worry. If it will really reach that far, I will definitely choose sides."

"You will choose our side, right?" Jason asked, just to be sure.

The blond shrugged. "We'll see when the time comes."

* * *

"You called me here, Miss Kate?"

Emily took a seat in the chair in front of her desk, now facing Kate.

"That's right," Kate confirmed. "I want you to do something for me."

"You can count on me for that," Emily confidently said. "What do I have to do."

"Find out more about Brandon Kanbara. We know almost nothing about him, strangely enough," Kate explained. "And it worries me. As the owner of this school, I need to know about my students to protect them. For you, as leader of the S-Rank, it's important too, in order to help the other students."

"I understand." Emily stood up from her seat, placing her hands on Kate's desk. "I will drop by his house to get some information about him. It's my job as the leader to do that."

"Good! I'm counting on you," Kate informed with a smile.

"And that's why I won't fail this time!"

* * *

**No duels today folks. Despite that, I hope you enjoyed the chapter and I wish all of you a nice day.**

**See ya!**


	4. Chapter 4

**I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh! Arc-V. I only own my OCs.**

* * *

Issues.

* * *

The boy closed the door behind him, removing his shoes.

His dog came to greet him, its tongue out of his mouth.

"Yo, Tyson." The boy petted the dog for a bit, making it lick his face. "Good boy..."

The boy got up, the dog following towards the living room.

"Mom. I'm back."

Said woman looked up, greeting him with a warm smile. "Hey, Brandon. How was school today?"

"As always," he said, placing his backpack on the ground.

"We have a visitor by the way."

He raised an eyebrow at that. "Visitor?"

At the mention on visitor, she greeted him.

"Hello, Brandon."

Blue eyes. Blonde hair. Emily.

"What are you doing here?"

* * *

Brandon took a sip of his drink without his harsh gaze weakening.

That those people from the S-Rank tormented him on that school was fine.

But in his own house? This was bad. He didn't have an intention to make friends.

"I'm here because, as leader of the S-Rank duelists, I have to know about my 'servants'. This includes about themselves, but also about their situation at home," Emily explained.

_Yeah right, _the blond boy thought.

He knew why she was in his house.

On the transfer papers there was absolutely no information about him except for his address, phone number, name, birthdate and his dueling achievements.

But even that seemed to be a wrong thing to do now.

She just wanted information. Information he couldn't give.

He stood up from the sofa, taking Tyson with him. "I'm going to walk the dog."

"Brandon Kanbara! This girl is here for you," his mom informed. "You can't just walk out at your visitors like that. I'll walk Tyson."

The German Shepard didn't seem to care who walked with him, as long as it was someone. Even though he really liked Brandon. The boy always gave him plenty of food and attention.

The blond sat down again, an unamused expression on his face. "Fine."

And at the very moment his mother left the house to walk the dog, a large silence fell.

The blond never was much of a speaker anyway, so it didn't really bother him.

But Emily on the other hand thought it was awkward and thus started to look at the stuff in his house.

"Nice house you got," she said. "It's really spacious."

"Thanks," the blond answered. "It looks that way because it's just me, mom and Tyson."

_What about his father then...? _Emily wondered.

"How do you want me to call you?" the blond boy asked. Upon her frown, he explained. "Your the leader of S-Rank. I'm sure they don't call you by your first name."

"You're right," Emily confirmed. "And that's why you also can't do that. Just call me Captain, Leader, or something else like that."

"Got it, Cap."

She was actually really surprised. His attitude on the school and here...

It was so different. But she decided not to question it. It was probably because he wanted to leave some sort of impression because he's the new one.

Not that the impression he left was a good one... but still.

But she saw something that was strange to her. A photograph. Of Brandon and a older woman with long blonde hair. His mother.

It was a nice photograph, that's for sure. But... Where was his father on it?

"Nice photo... Did your father take it?"

The blond boy's eyes narrowed, his hands balling into fists. The expression on his face became one of intense anger.

Emily noticed it. The boy tried not to explode.

"Sorry. I shouldn't have asked," she apologized.

"It's fine," he assured. "You weren't able to know."

His expression slowly softened, but his serious expression still remained. "I take it that I made you wonder about it, right?"

She wasn't sure on what to answer. She wanted to know, but she didn't think it was good to stick her nose into this boy's business.

"You really want to know it. I can read it from your face," he said.

Can people read something like that?

"It's actually very easy," Brandon said. "That man... how can I say it without any unappropriate words...? Let's just say that, if he was dead, I wouldn't care the slightest bit. Instead, I would throw a party."

Throw a party? That was kind of harsh for the death of your own father.

"May I ask why?"

Emily didn't know what was going to happen. He could explode, he could refuse to give answer, or he could just calmly continue.

"When I was born, he just left," the boy replied. "And to be honest, I don't care that he left me. But that he left mom as a single wife with a job in care of a son. That hurts me the most."

He calmly continued. "Mom had to give up her job and search for one that made it easy for her to also raise me. And while she found one, it wasn't one that brought in a lot of money. My mom couldn't give me al the fancy stuff other kids got from their parents, but she tried to give me as much fun things as possible. It resulted in a lot of money being waisted in me."

"But you sure liked it, right?" Emily asked.

"Of course. As kid you always like it when you get stuff, but..." He closed his eyes for a bit, a small bit of sadness in his eyes. "I knew that mom couldn't give me much with the salary she had. And I understood that. But I didn't need all the stuff other kids got. I... I was just happy that mom loved me so much. She wanted to do so much for me... I really appreciate that."

"And that's why," he continued, "I will always support mom. She raised me as a single mom, without much money. And yet, I don't have the feeling I lack something. Instead, I have more than I yearned for."

He could see the puzzled look on Emily's face, urging him to explain even further. "Because my mom couldn't afford to buy all kind of expensive stuff for me, I know that I need to work hard if I want something. But she also raised me with the norm to help those who are in need. And the way that man left us... It also made it so that I promised myself that I would never leave people behind like that. Not the way he did it."

"You really don't like him," Emily stated.

"Don't like him?" Brandon repeated. "I despise him. If he were to die in front of my eyes, I wouldn't even try to help him. It might sound harsh to you, but to me it isn't."

"I understand it," Emily said. "Despite not experiencing what you have been through. After all, I live in a house of 4."

"And that's my point," the boy said. "A lot of people don't know how it is to grow up without a father. They judge without knowing things. That's why I'm glad that you do that, so thanks for that."

Did he just genuinely thank her? So he really is a nice guy. If only he showed that to the others of the S-Rank...

They then both heard a beep.

"Ah, that's mine." Emily took out the main body of her duel disk, accepting the phone call. "Yes? Ah Riley. Yes, I will come home right now."

She ended the call, putting away the duel disk's main body. "Well, I have to go home. Thanks for telling me this. I can keep it in account."

"Keep it in account?" The blond boy sighed. "I don't want you to treat me different just because I only grew up with a mother in my life. Just treat me like you treat everybody else. That's all I ask for."

Emily nodded upon his declaration. He was right. She shouldn't treat him different just because of that.

"I will see you tomorrow then. Even though you'll probably hide in that corner of yours," she laughed.

"Glad you realize that," he said. "See you later, Cap."

He took out his duel disk's main body when Emily left his house, immediately calling someone.

"Yo, Master. It's me. They are on my tail already," he said. "They want more personal information."

'What did you tell them?' he asked after hearing the boy's words.

"Nothing. I don't intend to tell them anything," the boy spoke.

'As long as you don't tell about our school or what you are doing on their school it's fine'," Master told him. 'On another note, do you already have information on the duelists that are going to participate?'

The boy shook his head. "Not yet. They don't seem to be preparing for it yet. I'll inform you as soon as I know something, Master."

'Good. Have a nice day, Brandon Kanbara.'

"You too, Master."

The call ended and Brandon put the main body of his duel disk away.

At that moment, Tyson tackled the poor boy to the ground.

The dog clearly wanted attention. Or food. Brandon still didn't know which of the two the dog desired when he did that.

* * *

"Come on, everyone. Gather together," Kate ordered, clapping her hands to get the attention of everyone.

Everyone gathered, except for Brandon who decided to stay in his corner. He only opened one eye out of curiosity.

"As you all know, it's coming closer. And it's something you really worked hard for," Kate said. "You are all registered, but**—**"

Chris continued from there. "In order to really participate, you must be qualified to enter. This means that some of you still have to go through qualification rounds. The one needs to complete more than the other, but that's just the way it is."

"The ones who don't need to qualify anymore are Emily, Michelle and Brandon," Kate said. "These three people have to worry about nothing. Try to help the others out if they need help for the qualifiers."

"He's already qualified?" Eldon asked.

"Help from him?" Daniel disgustingly asked. "I won't even think about it."

But one person took it as a golden opportunity.

"Yo."

"What is it?" Brandon asked upon the "yo", that was meant for him.

"Could you help me?"

Everyone looked at James with a shocked expression.

"Depends on what you need help for," the blond said, abandoning his laying position to take a stance.

"You're really asking for his help?" Stephanie asked. "And I thought you couldn't get any more stupid."

"James. Are you sure what you're doing?" Lamar asked.

"Don't even worry about it. He's good. I want to become stronger through his help," he explained.

James attention then fell on Brandon, answering the latter's question. "I just want to get better."

"In Action duels or normal duels?" he asked.

"Preferably Action,' James replied.

Brandon hid his hands inside his pockets, closing his eyes for a bit before answering. "I can help you with that. When do you want to start?"

"As fast as possible."

"Very well. I'll train you for as far as it's possible," Brandon said. "Anyone who wants too is free to join in."

He then walked towards the door, shifting his attention towards Kate and Chris. "Am I still needed here? I have some things I need to take care of."

"You're free to go," Kate answered.

"But don't forget to neglect the things you still need to do as practice," Chris warned. "Even if you're qualified, you still need to do it in order to get better."

"Got it. I'm off then," he said. "See you, teammates. I'll contact you about the training later, James."

"That's fine," he answered, while the others only growled.

"Is he even taking us serious?" Paris asked. "The nerve of that guy!"

Emily looked at the door the blond left through, a worrisome look in her eyes.

_What kind of things would he have to take care of at this time...?_

* * *

The blond kneeled down in front of the stairs, his head hanging low.

"Master. I've come to report."

"Ah. Brandon. Is it regarding the participators?" Master asked.

"Indeed. It seems all are registered," he said. "But there are only three duelists who don't need to qualify anymore."

"And those three are?"

"Myself, Michelle Victorrama and Emily Beaton."

"I see. We are coming with the Hyper Rank students and the only Master Rank duelist that's left in this school," Master informed.

"Only? You mean that one left?" the blond asked.

Master nodded. "Marcellos has been sent out on a similar mission as you."

"So Justin is still left," Brandon connected. "Now he finally has the spot he wanted."

"He's still number two. There won't be any changes in positions while you two are gone," Master said.

"How about the Hyper Rank duelists? Is that guy participating too?"

"That guy?" Master asked with a puzzled expression before he realized what he meant. "No. He isn't. He doesn't have any interest in that."

"What a weird guy," the boy snorted. "He's nothing like me."

"He isn't. He only looks like you. Don't forget that," Master warned. "That, and your names are similar."

"He's part of a group like that and yet, he has no intention to duel," Brandon said. "He's way too different from Jason."

"It's the same with you and Kai, isn't it?" Master asked, an amused smile on his face.

"I guess you can say that."

"Very well then. You're dismissed," Master said.

Brandon took a stance, bowed, and headed for the door. But he realized something else that Master needed to know.

"I'm going to train one of the people in there," he said. "I hope you don't mind."

"I really don't. It's only good that you form bonds with those people," Master said.

"I'm not forming bonds with them. I just do it because he asked me to," he said. "Besides, the faster they trust me the better."

"Just don't train them too good. We can't have one of them win," Master informed.

"I know."

With that, the blond left.

* * *

James checked his watch again. He was supposed to meet him here, wasn't he?

Did he really have the wrong location?

But that guy likes to be late. Out of all the S-Rank members he was the last to come, and mostly 10 minutes or later after they were supposed to meet!

Then he looked up when he saw someone approaching him.

"Ah, there you are! You're late, man."

"Is that so? Hahaha. I think you have the wrong man, man!"

The boy now became more visible to the point James could see his face.

That definitely wasn't the person he was waiting on.

"Boys. We have an intruder."

The other boys joined him, an evil grin on their faces.

"Now, now. Don't people know this is our territory too? You are the 4th this week..." one said.

"I didn't know. I'm supposed to meet someone here," James answered.

He wasn't looking for trouble, it just wasn't in his nature. He was the one that caused it for others, getting caught up in it wasn't destined for him.

"Seems that person knows this is our territory," the other said. "But you can't just leave... You're an intruder after all."

"And that means...?" James asked.

"It's easy," the leader said. "You duel me. If you win, you can go."

"And if I lose?"

"Then you can also leave, but you will probably leave here scared."

James took out his own duel disk, activating it once it was on his arm. "Fine with me."

The leader grinned evilly. "Very well then!"

"DUEL!"

* * *

**Belated merry christmas everyone! I hope you all enjoyed yourselves!**

**I hope you enjoyed reading this chapter and I wish all of you a nice day.  
**

**See ya!**


	5. Chapter 5

**I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh! Arc-V. I only own my OCs.**

* * *

Take flight! Synchro summon!

* * *

"Kai and those stupid antics of his...!"

The blond growled once again. It's known about him that he's never on time, but this late? No, that was Kai's fault.

He was supposed to meet James 20 minutes ago. That guy would probably be gone already.

He went around the corner, approaching the meeting place.

There were people. That was a good sign.

But when he came so close that he could identify the people, he realized that it wasn't a good sign at all.

He saw James falling on the ground with his duel disk on.

Then he looked at the ones who caused it.

"You can't be serious...!" he muttered.

The three morons that harassed Emily and Riley. Great, just great.

Wait. What was that guy doing?

"If you would have taken me serious from the start, this wouldn't be happening," the leader spoke.

"Would what not be happening?" James asked.

The leader forcefully took James deck, holding it in his hand.

"Give that back!" James ordered.

He tried to take it back, but he got held back by the two henchmen.

"This is what happens when you lose a duel to me in **our** territory," the leader spoke, about to demonstrate what he meant.

And that was were Brandon got filled with rage.

He tore it. He tore James' deck in two right in front of his nose.

And he even had the guts to throw the loose pieces into the air, only to be carried away by the wind.

"My deck!?"

"Tearing someone's deck in two is low, even for you!"

The four people turned their heads towards the origin of the voice, a blond boy with anger in his eyes approaching them.

"Bla, bla, bla," the leader taunted. "You guys are such crybabies! He invaded our territory on own risk. He knew this was going to happen!"

"'Crybabies'?" Brandon repeated. "I still remember the moment you three ran away from me."

"That was then!" one of the henchmen said.

"This is now!" the other said. "We now are so strong that we don't have to fear you anymore!"

"That's right, Kanbara-chan! We can beat you!" the leader boasted.

The blond readied his duel disk, placing his deck inside the deck holder. "Come on then. All three of you."

The two henchmen looked at each other, before a grin appeared on their face.

The leader raised an eyebrow. "Big talk for someone who gets upset over some cards getting ripped."

"Don't worry. You'll be the one who's upset after I'm done with you guys," the blond threatened. "Or are you scared already?"

The two henchmen took out their own duel disks, taking place next to the leader.

The leader himself had a smug grin on his face, raising his duel disk so that it was in front of him. "You'll be the one getting scared!"

""DUEL!""

* * *

"Tempest, Tidal, Redox, Blaster! Finish this! Gale Hurricane, Tsunami Maelstrom, Boulder Basher, Volcano Frenzy!"

The four dragons attacked when the orders were given, completely ravaging the duel field.

?: ? → 0

?: ? → 0

?: ? → 0

The three fell back, expressions of horror present on their field.

"Impossible!" the leader went. "How is this even possible!?"

James watched it all with amazement. He already had trouble beating the leader, but Brandon easily defeated all three of them at the same time!

Brandon took a step towards the three of them, but they crawled backwards.

"Please! Have mercy!" one of the two henchmen begged.

"Yeah! He's making us do this!" the other said, pointing to their leader.

"Hey, hey... Can't we just talk about this...?

The leader desperately tried to make a mend, but Brandon couldn't be bothered.

"No, we can't. You tore his deck in two. A deck is the soul of a duelist, that what represents him or her," Brandon spoke. "For you to do something like that. I can't forgive you for that."

Sweat started to form on their foreheads, and they quickly crawled back once again. "RUN!"

Upon the sign of the leader, they all got up, running away to spare their own lives.

"You're lucky you're not worth following," the blond spoke. He turned to James, immediately apologizing. "I'm sorry about what happened because of me."

"They tore my deck apart, not you," James corrected.

"True. But because you needed to wait for me, this all happened," Brandon explained. "Allow me to make up for it."

"Don't even worry about it," James responded. "I'll find a new deck soon enough."

"No. It's my fault so I will make up for it," the blond insisted. "I will create a new deck for you."

The guy was very insisting and James guessed that he wouldn't win this and thus he agreed to it. "If you want that, then that's fine."

Upon that, the blond smirked. "Good."

But then he remembered something else and he took his own deck out of the deck holder. "Here."

"Are you giving me yours?!"

James wasn't sure what to do. He had seen those cards in action and they were strong. He wouldn't be able to handle those.

"Of course not. But you need to train somehow. I allow you to use my deck for that," Brandon said, handing James the deck. "Just be careful with it."

James nodded, taking the deck out of Brandon's hand.

He immediately felt a huge power coming from it, something he had never seen or felt with a card or deck before.

Brandon noticed James' strange behavior, making him raise an eyebrow. "Something wrong?"

James made a dismissing hand movement. "Everything's fine."

He placed the deck in the deck holder of his own duel disk, ready to start the training. "What do I have to do?"

"Draw a card and place it on the arm blade," replied Brandon.

James did as told, changing his attention back to the blond once he was done. "And now?"

"Just continue that," Brandon said.

"Continue that?" James asked, a puzzled expression present on his face.

"Until I tell you to stop."

The blond boy settled himself in the shadow of a big tree, laying down in the grass with his arms behind his head.

"But why?"

"You'll see eventually."

James shrugged, if this was to make him better, then he would do that.

Because he knew that he needed to get better. The duel against that gangleader has only proven that.

And so, James' training began by constantly drawing a card and placing it on the arm blade.

* * *

"How was your training yesterday?"

Lamar's question made everyone turn towards James.

If he would tell them, they would clearly laugh at him. All he had done was draw a card and place it on his duel disk for hours.

"It... was good! It was good, but really exhausting," he answered.

"Oh really?"

Paris got closer to his face. She knew James was lying, the exaggerating hand movements of his gave him away.

"Then tell us what he made you do," Paris ordered. "Maybe we can get better from it too."

"If you want that, you should just train with him too," James answered.

"But what if we don't want that?" Paris asked. "The guy has an ego bigger than this whole city. Nobody likes him. If we can get stronger by his training, without him training us, it would be beneficial for us all!"

Normally, he was good with words, but James didn't know what to say this time. Someone really needed to come to his rescue.

At that moment, Brandon walked in, throwing his bag with the other backs. He sought eye contact with James, the blond's head movement urging James to come over to him.

"Gotta go."

James sent a playful smile towards the group, before going to the blond boy.

"Yo. What's up?"

The blond crossed his arms, closed his eyes and leaned back against the wall. "I think I have an idea for a deck for you."

"Really?" James asked with a raised eyebrow. This guy was faster with duel related things than with other things. "That's great!"

Brandon nodded. "Is their anything specific that needs to be in there?"

"Not really. As long as it kicks ass!"

"And you're specialized in Fusion? So that has to be in your extra deck, I take it?"

"Actually," James began, "put in it what you think is necessary. Fusion, Synchro or Xyz. I'm fine with it."

A smirk painted Brandon's features. "I guess I have to train you how to use Synchro and Xyz then, but that's fine."

Then James extended his fist.

Brandon frowned. He knew what it was. Men often did that as a sign of their friendship. Did this guy really see him as a friend already?

Brandon returned the favor, their knuckles clashing. He then quickly hid his hands in his pockets, preparing to head towards his beloved corner. "Don't tell anyone about what I'm doing for you. Otherwise they will all want a deck. Can't be bothered with that."

"Got it."

Upon that answer, Brandon walked towards his corner, but Paris halted him. "Hey, you!"

The blond slowly turned towards her, his stone hard gaze making her think things over. "What do you want?"

"James is acting weird, so I want to know what you taught him yesterday," she casually spoke.

"That's none of your business." The blond's glare seemed to bore through her soul, but Paris didn't get scared from just that. "Now, if everyone could leave me alone right now, that would be much appreciated."

"Or you are just afraid to tell us. Seems you're not so though as you try to make us believe," Paris taunted. She clearly tried to provoke him. "Just a poor little boy on the inside."

"What is it with people in here constantly picking fights they can't win?" muttered the blond. "If this is your way of finding a challenge, then you've found one."

The boy took out his duel disk, activating it once it was around his arm.

Paris smirked. It wasn't her intention to challenge him, but she wanted to duel him to see if he really was that good at one point. And thus, she didn't let the opportunity slip.

She readied her own duel disk, fire burning in her eyes. "Let's go then."

""DUEL!""

* * *

"My turn!"

Paris decided to make the first move, summoning a monster from her hand. "I summon Gem-Knight Saphire in defense position!"

Gem-Knight Saphire, Level 4, 0/2100

"I set one card face-down and end my turn."

Paris was satisfied. With Saphire in defense position, it was almost impossible for Brandon to do something. There was no way a level 4 or below monster could have more attack than Saphire's defense.

But she knew he was dangerous. That's also the reason why she summoned Saphire, instead of going offensive.

"My turn. Draw."

The boy added his card to his hand, immediately discarding 2 others. "I discard Stream and Alexandridragon to special summon the Dragon Ruler of Waterfalls - Tidal from my deck."

The water materialized from water, making an entrance with a roar.

Dragon Ruler of Waterfalls - Tidal, Level 7, 2600/2000

"Then I banish Stream and Alexandridragon from my graveyard," Brandon announced, a heavy wind blowing over the field. "To special summon Dragon Ruler of Storms - Tempest from my hand."

Dragon Ruler of Storms - Tempest, Level 7, 2400/2200

**"Level 7 Tidal, Tempest, overlay!" **Brandon ordered, the two dragons disappearing into the Overlay Network. **"With these two monsters I build the Overlay Network. Xyz summon! Descend, Gaia Dragoon, the Thunderclap Knight!"**

A knight clad in red armor on a dragon that was also clad in red armor descended out of the Overlay Network, readying its lances.

Gaia Dragoon, the Thunderclap Knight, Rank 7, 2600/2100, Overlay Units: 2

"Gaia Dragoon, attack Saphire," Brandon ordered, Gaia Dragoon's lance getting engulfed in thunder.

The knight gave orders to the dragon, roaring off towards Saphire, stabbing it with his lance.

Paris: 4000 → 3500

Brandon noticed the shocked expression on Paris' face, forcing him to explain. "Gaia Dragoon is able to inflict piercing damage. Putting up a defense is unable now."

Paris took a step back. Did that guy have an answer on every move the opponent made?

"Turn end."

**Paris: 3500, Cards x3**

**Brandon: 4000, Cards x4**

"My turn! Draw!" Paris smirked as she played her magic card. This would show him to not act so high and mighty. "I activate Gem-Knight Fusion, fusing Emeral and Roumaline!"

A green-armored warrior and a yellow-armored warrior disappeared into the swirling vortex, Paris starting her chant.

**"Brilliant emerald of good fortune! Gem tingled with lightning! In a whirlpool of light, combine to bring forth a new sparkling radiance! Fusion summon! Appear, Gem-Knight Prism Aura!"**

A warrior with gems on his shield appeared on the field, a cape draped over his shoulders while his hair was tied into a ponytail.

Gem-Knight Prism Aura, Level 7, 2450/1400

"Gem-Knight's with Fusion's and everything. Not bad," Brandon admitted. "But can you use them to their fullest extent?"

"Of course. What's that for stupid question?" sneered Paris.

The blond smirked at her. "Gem-Knights are good cards. But by using them to their fullest extent they can be even stronger."

Paris gritted her teeth. This guy had no right to talk about her monsters!

"I activate Prism Aura's effect! By discarding a Gem-Knight card from my hand, I can destroy one face-up card on the field!" Paris explained. "Prism Aura, destroy Gaia Dragoon!"

Prism Aura slashed through Gaia Dragoon with its sword, the dragon crying out in pain as it got destroyed.

"Now, Prism Aura, direct attack!" Paris ordered.

The gems on Prism Aura's shield started to glow, the energy channeling into its sword. Once enough energy had gathered, he slashed Brandon with his sword, his life lowering drastically.

Brandon: 4000 → 1550

"Turn end," she sassily said.

Brandon said nothing while he drew his card, slapping it on the monster card zone. "When my opponent controls a monster when there are no monsters on my field, I can special summon Vice Dragon from my hand with its attack and defense halved."

A black dragon with thick claws appeared on the field, taking an offensive stance.

Vice Dragon, Level 5, 1000/1200

"Then I normal summon the level 2 Tuner monster Dread Dragon."

A brown, small-winged dragon with purple dreads appeared next to Vice Dragon, making everyone gasp.

Dread Dragon, Level 2, 1100/400

"A Tuner monster..." Michelle repeated

"Then that means..." Riley started.

"A Synchro summon..." Chloe finished.

**"I tune the level 5 Vice Dragon with the level 2 Dread Dragon,"** Brandon declared, Vice Dragon flying through green rings that Dread Dragon had created. **"Spread those wondrous and beautiful wings, guided by the winds of faith! Strike down at those who oppose us at light speed! Synchro summon! Come forth, clear part of my soul! Level 7! Clear Wing Synchro Dragon!"**

A white mechanical dragon appeared on the field, its wings shining brilliantly.

Clear Wing Synchro Dragon, Level 7, 2500/2000

"Clear Wing, attack Prism Aura!" Brandon ordered. "Hell Dive Whirlwind Slasher!"

The dragon flew up into the air, its wings emitting an intense glow. It then dove down towards Prism Aura, starting to spin around while heading for it, getting the dragon cloaked into a strong whirlwind.

But the attack of the dragon got halted by Paris' trap card: Attack Nullification.

"Attack Nullification negates your attack and end the battle phase," Paris explained.

Brandon closed his eyes for a brief moment out of acceptance and ended his turn. "Turn end."

**Paris: 3500, Cards x0**

**Brandon: 1550, Cards x3**

"My turn! Draw! I activate Prism Aura's effect by discarding Gem-Knight Alexand!"

Prism Aura was about to slash the dragon with its sword, but Clear Wing's wings started to glow, emitting beams from it towards Prism Aura. Prism Aura got destroyed once the beams made contact.

"What!?" Paris went. "How!?"

"Clear Wing's effect: Dichroic Mirror," Brandon replied. "When a level 5 or higher monster is targeted by a monster effect, I can negate that effect and destroy that monster."

Clear Wing Synchro Dragon then roared, its power increasing.

Clear Wing Synchro Dragon: 2500 → 4950

"After the monster's destruction, Clear Wing's attack increases with the same amount as the destroyed monster's," Brandon explained.

Paris took a step back. She was done for. She had nothing left in her hand anymore.

This guy had just defeated her without even trying. How strong was this guy?

And then she unwillingly declared it with gritted teeth. "Turn end."

Clear Wing Synchro Dragon: 4950 → 2500

Brandon drew his card, adding it to his hand. "I activate Giganticize, doubling Clear Wing's attack because my life is lower than yours. Battle phase."

Clear Wing Synchro Dragon: 2500 → 5000

Synchro Dragon roared at that declaration, once again flying up in the air, diving towards Paris, a cloak of wind being formed around it.

"Hell Dive Whirlwind Slasher!"

At that moment, Clear Wing Synchro Dragon dove towards Paris, slamming into her. Paris was unable to stay on her feet and fell backwards.

Paris: 3500 → 0

**Brandon: WIN**

Brandon's duel disk deactivated, enabling him to put it away.

He then placed his hands in his pockets, heading towards his destination: the corner of the room.

Everyone watched him go, all flabbergasted. Pendulum, Xyz, and now Synchro. How did this guy know so many different summonings?

Just who was Brandon Kanbara...?

* * *

**"Pendulum summon!"**

The silver-haired teen summoned forth three copies of the same monster. He declared an attack with them, lowering the opponent's life.

The turn then went to the simulator, but the simulator was unable to do any harm to the teen and thus it quickly ended its turn.

The boy then drew his card, adding it to his hand.

But at that moment the blue columns of light viciously started to shake, destroying everything on the field.

It caused the scientist in the observation room to stop to procedure, fearing for the teen's life if he remained in there.

After smashing on a lot of buttons, they finally managed to stop the procedure. The head scientist then entered the room the silver-haired teen was located.

"As I thought, the Pendulum monsters aren't ready yet," the teen mused, holding the two cards in his hand.

"They're not ready yet. But it seems you don't necessarily need them," the scientist spoke. "You were beating the simulator easily."

The teen then shot a look towards the simulator, imaginating it to to really be his rival.

"No," he then answered, making the scientist frown. "Brandon Kanbara wouldn't go down so easily. His style of dueling is unable to be simulated, even when we're simulating the cards he uses. Pendulum monsters are necessary to duel him on an equal level."

"In that case, me and my team shall do everything we can in order to perfect the Pendulum monsters, sir," the scientist spoke.

The silver-haired teen handed the scientists the cards, a thankful smile present on his face. "Please do."

He then left the room, heaving a heavy sigh. The combination of running a whole corporation, a school and being an elite duelist certainly sure was hard.

Brandon Kanbara could consider himself lucky for only being an elite duelist.

* * *

**The title is a homage to the Synchro summon of Stardust Dragon from Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's, whereas the term 'Take flight' is used to call it out. **

**This has been done because Clear Wing Synchro Dragon and Stardust Dragon both have similar effects, are both Dragon-type monsters with the Wind attribute, both have 2500 ATK and 2000 DEF and both, in the anime, are used by major characters using D-Wheels.**

**I hope you all enjoyed the chapter and I wish all of you a nice day.**

**I also hope you will also all have an amazing 2015. It's a new year, so make it the best one.**

**See ya!**


	6. Chapter 6

**I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh! Arc-V. I only own my OCs.**

* * *

Who wants to duel us?!

* * *

"Unbelievable! I can't believe I lost to a guy with a dragon fetish!" Paris whined. "And he didn't even make an effort!"

"It's only one loss," Stephanie said. "It's not like Kate will kick you of A-Rank right now."  
"But still!" Paris protested. "I wouldn't mind if he made an effort to beat me, but he didn't! He didn't even use a magic or trap card!"

"He did use Synchro summon," Cloe reminded. "That means that he needed a strong monster to beat you, so there is some bit of effort in it..."

"That's not bad for someone with a dragon fetish, is it?" joked Emily. "But for real, he's probably the best duelist out of all of us. Being able to use Synchro, Xyz and even Pendulum, which is said to only be a myth... You have to be strong to pull that off."

"He's probably able to use Fusion too," Chloe commented. "It was the easiest to pull of according to him anyway."

"Don't count on it," Stephanie replied. "If he looks at Fusion summoning like that, then he won't use it."

And while the girls continued their talk, Emily noticed that Riley hasn't said much since the beginning of the talk. Instead, she has constantly been in deep thoughts.

Emily elbowed her sister lighty, awakening her out of train of deep thoughts. "Ah. Emily."

"What's wrong?" Emily asked. She was slightly concerned about Riley. She knew that when Riley acted like this, that something troubled her.

_**"Synchro summon! Come forth, clear part of my soul! Level 7! Clear Wing Synchro Dragon!"**_

"Nothing," she answered. Emily didn't need to unnecessarily worry for her.

"You're bothered about his monster, isn't it?" Emily guessed, trying to ensure her. "It's not weird that you are. It was a strong monster."

"It's not the monster," Riley denied. "But it's the way he summoned it. His Synchro summon looked so... powerful, great, amazing even!"

"You have to admit, it really looked like that," Stephanie said, elbowing Paris, who agreed.

"Despite my loss and all, it really looked amazing," Paris admitted.

"But what about it?" Chloe asked. "You're a Synchro user too. I don't really see a reason for you to be upset about it."

"And that's the problem!" Riley exclaimed. "He's a Synchro user too! And a very good one! Mine looks so..."

Stephanie tried to finish her sentence. "So unconvincing?"

"Yeah..."

Riley's expression fell. She really was greatly affected by it.

But Emily wouldn't be a good sister for Riley if she didn't come up with the perfect solution.

"Just ask him to help you."

"You're also starting to say that?" Paris asked. "Miss Kate and Chris already said that too."

"Kate said that the people who are already qualified need to help out the people who aren't," Emily spoke. "And he's already qualified and Riley's not."

"But what if he doesn't want to help me?" Riley asked. "I mean, he sure has better things to do than teach me something like that!"

"He's already training James," Stephanie said. "I'm sure that somebody doesn't have anything to do when you start to train James for something."

"But what if he doesn't want to?" Riley then asked. "He seems to care about nothing."

"He cares about training James," Paris answered.

"But it's easier for a guy to do a favor for a guy," Riley went. "That's just the way guys do things!"

"Riley. Don't worry so much," Emily spoke. "I'm sure that he's willing to help you. He's a nice guy. Remember when he helped us before?"

Riley thought back for a moment. It was true. He had helped them when those three boys harrassed her and Emily.

"I do," Riley admitted. "But that was something different."

"It might be," Emily admitted. "But he had no valid reason to help us. He could have just walked along."

"Yeah, but—"

"No buts. You're going to ask him to help you," Emily ordered, a playful smile painting her features. "Or else I will."

Emily left no room for further arguing, and thus, Riley agreed with a sigh.

"Fine. But if he says no, then I won't try again!"

* * *

"Brandon Kanbara, you're here again?" Master chuckled. "You sure like this place."

"Of course I do. This place is my home," Brandon responded. "But I came to report about that other place."

"Speak," Master ordered.

"Another Fusion archetype is used in there," the boy spoke. "And a rather good one."

"And what might that good archetype be?" Master asked.

"Gem-Knights."

"First Elemental Heroes, now Gem-Knights..." Master held his chin, thinking for a small bit. "They sure have some of the best Fusion archetypes available."

Brandon agreed through a nod. "Unfortunately, they aren't able to use the archetypes to their fullest extent yet. The Gem-Knights were an easy target for Clear Wing."

Master frowned. "So you already showed them Synchro summon too?"

"Indeed. I won't hide it if it's necessary for me in a duel," explained the blond. "Besides, Odd-Eyes and Dark Rebellion already had some fun while Clear Wing needed to sit out."

Master chuckled. "It's good to know that you still feel a strong connection with your cards."

"Cards? They are part of my soul," Brandon corrected. "It's only natural for me to have a strong connection with them."

Master smiled inwardly. It was good to know that the Brandon Kanbara from now wasn't any much different from the one he met 8 years ago.

But then he thought of something that he had been thinking about for quite some time now.

"How many people are in that S-Rank of Your Move Duel School?" Master asked.

Brandon needed some time to remember every person that was in there and to count them. He had never been a genius in math. Even simple math like this gave him a major headache.

After he finally had the answer, he said it. "Ten. That excludes myself."

"I have been thinking for some time," Master revealed. "It will take quite some time for you to keep an eye on every duelist in there and to investigate them good."

"That's true," Brandon agreed. "But what do you want to do about it?"

"It's easy actually. I want to see their skills too," Master admitted. "And therefore, I want to propose something to Your Move."

Brandon tilted his for a moment, looking at the back of Master's chair. "And what might that be?"

"A duel. Not just one, but multiple," Master explained. "We can see how the Hyper Rank duelists are getting on while you and I can see how good the S-Rank duelists of Your Move really are."

"Sounds interesting." Brandon hung his head low again. "Any specific duelists that you want to know about?"

"Not really," Master said. "But that's mostly because I don't really know them. How about you?"

The boy smirked. "To be honest, I would love to see Michelle and Emily in action. And James. But I doubt his deck will be ready before that time."

"Perhaps is James the boy you're training?" Master asked, eyebrows raised. "And what's that about a deck being ready?"

"Indeed. He's quite dedicated," Brandon said. "And about that deck... Well, his got tore apart by three weirdos."

"I see. And thus he's still creating a new one?"

Brandon shook his head. "Not really. I am."

Master raised an eyebrow. "You're actually doing that? I'm impressed."

"Thank you," the boy thanked.

"Creating him a dragon deck too?" Master asked out of curiosity. He knew how much Brandon loved dragons. If the blond boy had the possibility to choose between money and fame or dragons, he would still choose dragons without even thinking.

"Not really. I've heard that he's someone who doesn't take his duels serious until he's further in it," Brandon explained. "Therefore, I'm creating a deck that, even when he kicks back in the beginning, is still able to win."

"I see." Master brought his fingers to his chin again, a small silence following. "Any cards that you still need?"

"Actually, that's something I also wanted to talk to you about, Master."

And from what Master understood, it was something Marcellos wouldn't be happy about.

* * *

"Come on, everyone!"

Kate clapped her hands again. A sign that everybody needed to gather.

"We have exciting news for you!" Chris informed.

Everyone gathered in the middle of the room, hence for Brandon. He preferred to stay in his corner. It was cosy and nobody bothered him. Just the way he liked it.

"Everyone here?" Kate counted the heads, and when she saw that everyone was present, she clasped her hands together. "Perfect. We can announce the great news then!"

"What's the big news, Miss Kate?" Emily asked.

"We gained an invitation from a school for a some sort of small tournament," Kate explained.

Chris continued from there. "And because we saw it as a good chance for you to get better, we decided to accept the invitation."

"Where's the invitation from?" asked Emily.

"It's from All-Star Trinity."

Everyone gasped. "ALL-STAR TRINITY!?"

"That's like one of the top schools in the region!" Eldon said.

"Even the whole country!" West corrected.

"And it even has some influence in foreign countries!" Riley finished.

"Why would that school want to duel against us?" Stephanie asked, not really convinced that a school like that just wanted to duel.

"Sounds fun though," James admitted. "Dueling against some of the best in the country is dope, man!"

Paris raised an eyebrow at James statement. "Best in the country is a little bit farfetched, don't you think?"

"It isn't. They really are good."

All head's in the room turned towards the corner. Brandon's corner to be exact.

The boy took a stance, hiding his hands in his pockets. "Many of the students there are able to enter into the higher levels of the pro league. Besides that, it's a school that has quite some international name and fame with it. So you can literally say that it's the best in this whole country, together with LDS ofcourse."

"How do you know that?" Eldon asked.

"Some acquaintances of mine attend that school as Hyper Rank duelists. They tell me quite a lot about that school," answered the blond.

"So Hyper Rank... Is it high?" Michelle asked.

"High? It's one of the best ranks to achieve in there," Brandon said as a matter of fact. "There is the Normal Rank, Bronze Rank, Silver Rank, Gold Rank, Platina Rank, Diamond Rank, Hyper Rank and Master Rank."

"And our rank? To which rank is it comparable?" Daniel asked.

"From what I've seen from you guys, and from what I've seen from their Hyper Rank duelists, I would probably say..." Brandon paused before answering. He decided to carefully choose his words, but he knew that even if he brought it careful, that they would still be annoyed, amazed, shocked, or a combination of the three. "Probably their third rank. The Silver Rank."

"SILVER RANK!?"

"One of their lowest ranks is just as strong as our highest?" Chloe asked in disbelief.

Brandon nodded. "That's how good that school is. It mostly exists out of extraordinary duelists who have won a lot of youth tournaments."

"But we are quite good too, or else we wouldn't be in S-Rank," Stephanie said.

"That's right. But S-Rank is your limit, so it might be possible that there is someone in this room who exceeds the level of their Silver Rank. But like I said, because S-Rank is the top here, that's hard for me to know," explained the blond. He then shifted his attention towards Kate. "Miss Kate. Am I allowed to give my opinion about this all?"

Kate frowned for a bit. "Of course you can. You're a part of this group too."

Brandon nodded. "Thank you. To be honest, I think it's a good thing for us to duel them. It's good to gain some experience. It always is when you duel against the best. But it's also a good opportunity to see where we stand, what needs to be improved, and what's good the way it is."

Everyone looked at him in astonishment. Did he just speak in the we-perspective?

Brandon noticed the silence. Normally there would be people going in against his opinion, but this time there was nothing.

"Does this mean everyone agrees or disagrees with me...?"

"He's right. We from S-Rank need to work even harder to up our game!" Emily said. "Therefore, why are you all standing here like that? Get to your training everyone!"

"Train even harder...?" Daniel muttered.

"As if we're not trying hard enough..." West sighed.

"This is just insane, man..." James whined.

"We will be taking them on in a week," Kate finished. "Make sure you're ready by then!"

Everyone then went back to their training while Emily as leader of the S-Rank surveilled everything.

Brandon returned to his corner for another peaceful day. That guy was probably the only person in the whole room who never did training. Not even the slightest bit. All he did was enter the room, throw his bag with the others, lay down in his corner with his arms behind his head for the rest of the day and then leave towards home. The next day, everything continued again. It was a never ending cycle.

And besides James, who the blond occasionally called over, there wasn't really anybody who had contact with him. Mostly because they didn't like him, were scared of him, or just didn't notice he was there.

But this time it was different.

Riley stopped in front of him, making the blond pop an eye open.

A smirk painted his features, while his second eye opened. "Can I help you, Riley?"

"Actually..." She looked down at the ground, nervously fidgeting with her fingers. "I, uhm..."

Brandon raised an eyebrow. "You what? You can just say it. I won't bite you. Even if people in here think I will."

"I actually need your help with something," Riley said, after a lot of nervous fidgeting and stammering. "And it's about Synchro summoning."

"Something that highly interests me," Brandon said, a small sparkle in his eyes. It was really unusual for Riley, because he either had his eyes closed or a very serious, threatening gaze in them. But it was a nice change for the time being. "Want to learn it too?"

"Not learn it. I already know it actually," she informed. "It's just that... I need some help with honing it."

"Honing it? But you already know how to use it, right?"

Riley gave a quick nod. "Yeah. But your Synchro summoning was really different from mine."

"And you want me to help you hone your skills in Synchro so that it comes closer to my style of Synchro?" Brandon finished for her.

"So that it can become just as good as your style of Synchro," Riley corrected.

Brandon smirked again, taking a sitting position, abandoning his laying position for it. "Very well. I like Synchro summoning and you're actually a nice person, so I will train you."

A smile started to spread on Riley's feature. Brandon was sure he even saw a small sparkle in her eyes. "Really?"

He nodded. "You can tag along with James."

"With James...?"

"Don't worry. You won't be doing the same," he said with an amused smirk. "Even though he would wish it was the same."

"Yeah..."

Riley was aware of it that James often flirted with her. It happened more often than she would like. And she didn't really like it.

James was annoying, sticked his nose in other people's business whenever he likes, shows off when he has the chance and he also probably is the most irresponsible being in the city and is a big player in general. Never, ever, could Riley possibly like someone like that.

Then she suddenly bowed, making Brandon frown out of surprise. "You don't have to bow for me, you know. A 'thank you' is enough for me."

Riley straightened herself, a small blush of embarrassment present. "Right. Thank you very much."

Brandon sent a smirk her way, saying, "No problem."

Riley shot a thankful smile before leaving him alone. A thing that was necessary, because Emily was being strict like always.

"Riley! No slacking off!" she shouted.

"Sorry. I needed to take care of something," Riley explained.

Emily knew what she was talking about and decided to let it slip. Just for now. After all, she was the one to suggest that.

But the other's didn't escape her strictness either.

"Come on, James! Take things more seriously!"

"West! What are you doing?!"

"Stop staring at me like that, Eldon!"

"Michelle! Have you even been paying attention to what you needed to do!?"

"I'm not doing anything wrong?" she replied immediately.

"'I'm not doing anything wrong?'" Emily repeated, quite ridiculed. "'I'm not doing anything wrong!?' You're doing everything wrong!"

"But we needed to this from Chris..." Michelle replied.

"And I'm the captain. If I say you're doing it wrong. Then you're doing it wrong!"

Emily got dangerously close towards Michelle. Her expression mixed with both anger and annoyance while Michelle didn't really know what to do or say.

"Got it," Michelle simply said before resuming her training.

Then Chloe suddenly walked towards the door, making Emily frown. "And what are you doing?"

"I... have to... do stuff," Chloe responded after some hesitation.

"'Stuff'"? Emily repeated, crossing her arms. "And what might that 'stuff' be?"

"I can't tell you that... ...I'm sorry!" She then quickly grabbed her bag and left the room, heading to god knows where.

"Why is she acting so strange?" Stephanie wondered.

"I don't know," Paris answered. "But what I don't know is that she doesn't fully go for S-Rank!"

Brandon had watched it all from his corner. He saw that there were a lot of things going on in the group, now that he actually started to pay attention to the group. He was sure that if he didn't do that, he still wouldn't have noticed.

He smirked. Maybe he didn't need to do anything to destroy this school from the inside.

After all, they seemed to be perfectly capable of it at their own.

* * *

** Guest who called me a moron. Thank you very much for the compliment. Really appreciate it. But through the effect of Stream, who has been mentioned, Tidal can be special summoned from the deck.**

**Tension between S-Rank is rising and it's actually not Brandon's doing. Hooray.**

**I hope you enjoyed this chapter and I wish all of you a nice day.**

**See ya!**


	7. Chapter 7

**I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh! Arc-V. I only own my OCs.**

* * *

Screams from the dark versus melodies from the heavens!

* * *

"And look! That's where I mostly go to chill with my friends! Oh, and that food stand over there has some of the best food available!"

Riley rolled her eyes for the umpteenth time. Tagging along with James was worse than she had thought.

She could handle his flirting. She was used to that by now after all.

But telling her things that didn't really matter to her, that annoyed her. She had training to do. They had to meet up with Brandon 20 minutes ago!

James only was a nuisance to her. This was, once again, evidence of that.

"James! We have to meet up with Brandon!" Riley said. "At this rate, it will last an hour before we meet up with him!"

"Don't even worry about it! He's late himself all the time," James replied. "I'm sure he's not there yet."

"You're sure of everything! Well, guess what, you aren't!" Riley snapped. "You're not right of things, you're annoying, you don't take anything serious, you're irresponsible, you're—"

James fell strangely silent. Because of that, Riley stopped her rant, looking at him.

He looked back.

"I understand," James said. "Let's just keep walking."

James walked ahead of her, while Riley stood still.

"Did it actually bother him?" she wondered.

She quickly shrugged it off, following James towards the meeting place.

* * *

"You're here."

Brandon took a stance, walking towards them from his spot underneath the three. "We can begin then."

Riley frowned. "You're not mad that we're late?"

"I'm always late myself," Brandon answered. "It would be hypocritical to say something about being late to other people."

He then changed his attention towards James. "You know what to do."

James nodded, immediately going to work. He got used to Brandon's way of communicating, but not yet to the reason for doing what he did as training. But if Brandon said that he needed to do that, then he was sure it was useful for something. Hopefully.

Which left Riley alone, not knowing what to do.

"Show me."

She frowned once again. Show him what?

"What exactly?" she asked.

"Synchro summoning," he answered. "Your Synchro summon. I can only help you if I know what needs working on."

"Right." Riley nodded, activating her duel disk, taking out a number of cards.

She quickly showcased her Synchro summon, awaiting the blond's reaction.

"It looks good," he complimented. "But I think I've found the problem."

"Is it a small problem or a big problem...?"

Brandon closed his eyes for a bit. It wasn't such a big problem. It was just that...

"You lack confidence."

She frowned once again, her lips parting a bit.

"I'm overconfident, up to the point where people start to see it as arrogance," Brandon began. "But you lack confidence, affecting your style of dueling. You doubt in what monster you should Synchro summon. Your monsters feel that, you know."

Riley then shot a look towards her duel disk, her deck in the deck holder. "My monsters feel it?"

"My monsters feel my confidence in them burning. Therefore, they descend upon the field full of power and confidence themselves," Brandon explained. "If you doubt about which monster to use, or if it's better to use another monster as example, then they feel it. A deck feeds on the feeling of the owner. If the owner puts all their faith in their deck, the deck will repay that. If you don't care about you're deck and only see them as cards, they will never repay you."

But it were just cards. How could they do things like feeling confidence?

"Duel Monsters is more than just 'a card game' as people say it. And I know that you think that it's a card game too," Brandon said. "However, I think that every card has a spirit in it. One stronger than the other. It just needs a suitable partner to bring it out."

He then took out a number of cards, placing all of them on his duel disk.

Tempest, Tidal, Redox and Blaster descended upon the field with loud roars.

"These 4 dragons are just 4 of the many monsters I place my confidence in," Brandon began. "And I want you to beat them with your monsters. If you doubt about Synchro summoning a certain card, I will feel and know it through them. It doesn't have to be quick. As long as you get stronger from it, it's fine. Even if it will take days."

Riley nodded. Tempest, Tidal, Redox and Blaster were, from what she knew, 4 of the strongest creatures that resided in his deck. If she managed to get rid of those, or even give them a hard time, she knew that her Synchro summon was good enough.

**"Synchro summon!"**

And so it began.

* * *

"Can you believe her? 'I did nothing wrong'," Stephanie repeated, imitating Michelle.

"Clearly she did something wrong," Paris said.

"Yeah, but don't you think you've been a little bit too harsh on her, Emily?" Chloe butted in.

"I wasn't harsh on her. This was good for her," Emily responded. "Michelle needs to realize that she has to stop acting the way she does."

"Then you should shout on that other guy too," Stephanie spoke. "He doesn't do a thing, but when he does, it's something he isn't supposed to do."

"But she won't do that because she's taken a liking to him," Paris joked with a sly smile. "Or it's just a trick so that she can keep her feelings for Eldon hidden."

Emily raised an eyebrow at that. "Eldon? Not even the slightest chance."

"We know, girl. No need to take it so serious," Paris answered.

"Yeah. There's no way a dork like Eldon would get a girlfriend," Stephanie added.

"But she didn't say anything about Brandon," smiled Chloe.

The girls shot the blonde a sly look, eyebrows raised out of curiosity.

"Don't be so ridiculous," Emily said. "I mean, he's cute and all but that's everything there is to it."

"But what about Michelle's way of acting," Chloe said, changing topics again. "I don't see anything wrong."

"And that's the problem," Stephanie replied.

"She's not doing anything wrong," Paris said. "Because she's trying too hard to fit in."

Emily then started to play with her hair, starting to imitate Michelle. "I'm Michelle. I'm so nice. Please love me!"

The girls erupted into laughter, making some of the other people inside the juice bar frown at them. But the people quickly shrugged it off.

"One is trying to hard to fit in and the other tries to fit out," Stephanie laughed, trying to imitate Brandon. "Shut up. Leave me alone. Start to hate me already."

"That's like the worst impression ever," deadpanned Paris. "He never says a word. He just stays in his corner, glaring at everyone who comes too close."

Chloe nodded confirmingly, even though she hadn't tried to get close to him.

And so, the gossip of the girls continued.

* * *

"James."

No reaction.

"James."

No reaction.

"James."

Still nothing.

Calling out to him didn't help.

The blond walked straight into his field of view. James couldn't ignore him now.

"Training's done for today."

"I know."

James continued to draw a card and place it on the duel disk, repeating the process over and over.

"Then why are you still training?"

"Because it's necessary."

He didn't fully lie on that part. All-Star Trinity Duel School would come in a week. And if his deck was ready by then, he needed to be ready to take them on.

But there also was the thing Riley had said to him.

_"You don't take anything serious."_

He would prove to everyone, and especially to Riley, that he **could** take things serious.

Brandon realized that James wouldn't be quitting anytime soon. The determined look on his face said it all.

"James."

"I'm not stopping."

"It's not about that," Brandon revealed. "You're done with this part of training. You're ready for the next part."

He then stopped, his arm falling to his side. "What's the next part?"

"Laps."

James frowned. "You're making me run?"

"Action Duels are more than just dueling, you know. Once your training will bring results you'll realize what it was necessary for," Brandon explained.

He then removed his red body warmer, throwing it to the side.

James frowned again. "What are you doing?"

"I'll be running with you. Running 20 laps all alone isn't enjoyable. Believe me."

'Believe me'? Did he used to do this too to get better? If that was the case, then James would definitely do that. The level of Brandon was the level he wanted to reach.

He then nodded. "Let's go."

Brandon nodded and so, the two ran 20 whole laps.

* * *

"Master. I think it will only be good if you promote me."

Master frowned at the words the boy spoke. He definitely took every chance to get promoted.

"I won't promote you now that you're the only Master Rank duelist left in this building," Master informed. "It would only be unfair towards the other two. Besides, being the 2nd Master Rank duelist in a Duel School like this one is a good thing."

"It isn't," protested the boy. "Being second best isn't good enough for me. Especially not if Kanbara is ahead of me."

"Kanbara is ahead of you for a reason, Justin."

"That's just a whole load of nonsense," Justin countered. "You don't evaluate our spots as much as it's necessary. Kanbara doesn't deserve to be on top anymore."

"And what makes you think that?" Master asked. "The last time I checked, he defeated you fair and square."

"That was 5 years ago!" Justin went. "In 5 years a lot can change. Look at what he's doing now! He's in that lowly school doing absolutely nothing!"

"He's doing more in there than you would think, Justin," Master countered. "Besides, I gave him a mission that forced him to go there."

"Why is it that you favor Kanbara over everyone else?" Jason asked. "What does he have that we don't have?"

"I don't favor him over everyone else, Justin," Master said. "But if it bothers you, then I'm willing to evaluate your positions after Brandon and Marcellos return."

"Very well."

Justin stood up, stopping in front of the door he walked towards.

"This time, I won't lose to Kanbara. Master."

Master only nodded.

* * *

"This place really has some of the best food available."

"Told you so."

The people shot the two boys weird looks, but the teens simply ignored it.

After all, there's nothing wrong with two boys sitting on the ground, enjoying their food, is it?

"From this point onwards, this is the place where I will be getting my food," Brandon said, munching down the last bit of food he still had.

After both had finished their 20 laps and were about to leave, the blond's stomach started to growl heavily. At that, James told him that he knew a food stand with very good food and that he would definitely enjoy the food there.

Boy, was James right.

"Can I ask you something?"

Brandon shot a look at James. One eyebrow slightly raised. "Shoot it. I'm all ears."

"Why aren't you trying to make any friends at S-Rank?" James asked. "You're a really cool dude."

The boy smirked at the compliment. "I don't believe in friendships."

"Why not?"

"Sometimes, when people grow older, things happen that makes us believe less in a certain thing," Brandon explained. "In my case, it's friendship."

"So you abandoned it," James concluded.

"I didn't abandon it. I just don't believe in it," Brandon corrected. "There's a difference in that."

"Can I ask you another thing?"

"Shoot it."

"I can't figure her out. Think you can help me out?" he asked.

Brandon smirked. He knew who 'her' was. Everyone at S-Rank who knew 'her' was."So you're not married? Such a shame."

"Married?" James asked, a deep frown present. "We were never married."

"Sure you weren't. Even I could see it, and I pay attention to nothing," Brandon said. "Seems I, and many others, were wrong."

James frowned. Were there really so many people who thought they were a couple?

The thought of it pleased him though.

Brandon then thought for a bit, thinking of a way to advice James. "This might sound strange and you will probably think that I'm a dueling fool. But, you can compare love with dueling."

"Dueling?" James asked with a raised eyebrow.

Brandon nodded. "Let's say that the life points are the heart. And it's quite easy actually. When a duelist get's battle damage or effect damage, his life points take a hit, right?"

James nodded. "Yeah."

"It's the same with the heart. When someone who you deeply care about hurts you, your heart takes a hit too."

James knew that. Riley's words from earlier today had definitely taken a hit on his heart.

"But when a duelist's life points get a hit, that duelist can choose: accept that their life points will take more hits and thus lose, or stand up and fight back, Brandon explained. "It's the same with love. When one has a broken heart, one can choose to stay down and allow him- or herself to be hurt because of it or stand back up and try to heal that broken heart."

He then looked James straight in the eyes. "In other words: if you really want Riley, then you should continue to fight for her."

"Who knew that a guy who hides in a corner could give such good advice?" James asked. "I certainly didn't."

"Who knew that Casanova himself needed love advice?" Brandon asked. "I certainly didn't."

James then started to laugh, while Brandon only smirked.

James himself then smirked. This might be a golden opportunity to learn something about Brandon that he might not be able to learn any time soon.

"Who do you like?"

The blond frowned. "What do you mean?"

"You know what I mean." A sly smile painted James features. "Who's the lucky girl?"

"I have no interest in things like that," Brandon claimed. "No girlfriend, no problem."

James decided to let it slide. Just for now. He would get it out of him one day. Eventually.

"You know," the blond began, "I think I'll leave my corner for a while. Just to hang out with you and the other guys some more. After all, I'm a really cool dude."

James smirked at that. It would be good to have a new guy with their group. But there was one thing he still had questions about if that were to happen.

"Are you sure that'll be fine with Eldon?" he asked. "Cause you don't like him."

Brandon frowned. "I never said that I didn't like him. The way he acted towards me, made me act the way I did against him."

"And Daniel?"

"I'm allowed to think of him as a prissy boy, aren't I?" he asked with a raised eyebrow. "But don't even worry about it. I'll sort it out with them tomorrow."

"Don't even worry about it?" James asked, a laugh escaping his lips. He never expected that guy to use his own signature sentence.

"It doesn't sound as good out of my mouth as that it sounds out of yours," Brandon said. "But it was worth a try."

"Kind of," the black-haired boy agreed.

This guy. He was actually was very amusing to be around.

Brandon Kanbara really was a mystery to all.

And James had just solved a tiny part of the mystery.

* * *

"Alright everyone, gather around!" Chris ordered, everyone coming together in the middle of the room. "Today we're going to do something that we normally never do, but it's still something that's important for duelists."

Emily frowned while looking around. She then interrupted Chris. "We can't begin. James, Brandon and Riley aren't here."

"I know," Chris said. "They have permission to stay away. Riley informed us of the fact that she would be a little bit later."

Everyone looked at each other. What could be so important that those two could stay away?

"All I have to say right now is: search your partner and try to work together," Chris said.

Everyone then walked across the room, finding the partner who they thought to be the most suitable for them. Paris and Stephanie immediately teamed up together, they knew that together, they were a very strong combo.

Lamar and Daniel kind of unwilling paired up together, mostly because of their clashing styles of dueling, but they both agreed that opposites attract and that there might be a chance that it would work out well.

Emily looked around with an annoyed look on her face. Stephanie and Paris had already found a partner. Her sister was going to be late. And Brandon, who without a doubt was the best duelist in the whole place wasn't present.

Michelle walked up to Eldon, noticing he didn't have a partner yet. "Hey Eldon."

He turned around with raised eyebrows, smiling when he saw who it was. "Oh. Hey Michelle."

"Want to be my partner?" she asked, hoping on it that he would agree to being her partner.

Eldon smiled, giving her a nod. "Sure. I'll get my duel disk and then we can start."

Michelle smiled back, nodding. "Cool."

Emily sighed. She had never hoped that she needed to do it, but it actually was necessary. As leader of S-Rank, she couldn't afford not to have a partner.

"Eldon, you're my partner today."

Said boy once again turned around to the owner of the voice with raised eyebrows, meeting another blonde.

"Emily?" his face soon straightened again, a smile appearing on his face while a small blush crept upon his cheeks. "Sure!"

She wanted him as partner. Did that mean that she finally realized she liked him as well!?

But then he realized it: he now had two partners!

"Eldon, are you ready?" Michelle asked, duel disk already around her wrist.

"Uhm, yeah. I just have to get my deck," he answered. "Be right back!"

He then quickly ran towards Emily, who had told him that they would practice in another room where they couldn't be disturbed by the rest.

Emily glared at him, her arms crossed. "Where have you been? Come on! We have to start now!"

Emily then was about to start off about a tactic, but Eldon then made up an excuse to go back to Michelle. "Uhm, I have to go to the toilet."

"Then go," Emily ordered. "But make it quick!"

Eldon nodded, going back to Michelle, but he also made up excuses to leave her to continue with Emily. It continued like that for half an hour.

Emily, wondering why he's acting even stranger than usual follows him, seeing that he had just left the main room to get back to her.

"Emily?" Eldon called out when he was back in the room again, but she wasn't there. He shrugged. "Time to get back to Michelle, then!"

He walked back into the main room, finding both Michelle and Emily glare at him, both with arms crossed.

"You have actually been switching between partners?" Emily asked, quite ridiculed. With her as partner, someone isn't supposed to even think about another partner. She was clearly the best partner possible.

"You had two partners, Eldon? You could have just told me you already were partners with Emily..." Michelle's face then fell. "I'm really disappointed in you..."

"Choose," Emily demanded. "Who do you want as your partner?"

Eldon looked at Michelle and then at Emily. And then again, again, and again. This choice was a hard one. Going with someone who asked him and is an amazing person and duelist or going with the one had has had a crush on for years and is also leader of the S-Ranks?

Both would be mad if he chose one over the other. He had to find a way out.

Chloe didn't have a partner, didn't she? That was a way out!

He saw Chloe standing all by herself, quickly walking over to her. "I'm choosing Chloe!"

Both of them frowned, mouth agape. Emily was the first one to react.

"CHLOE!?"

Michelle quickly recovered, she understood Eldon's choice. Emily would be enraged if he would have chosen her. She was just a little bit... disappointed that he didn't chose her.

Chris, who had been surveilling for some time, noticed that there were 2 people who didn't have a partner yet.

Michelle and Emily.

Upon Emily's shout, Kate came out of her office, going to see what that was all about. On the inside, she squealed with delight.

"So two of my best duelists are teaming up?" Kate asked with a smile. "This is going to be exciting!"

Emily then raised an eyebrow, quite ridiculed. "Me? Teaming up with her? As if!"

Then, something snapped inside of Michelle. Emily was always mean towards her without any reason. It just didn't make any sense!

"Why are you always being so mean!?"

Emily then raised an eyebrow. "I'm not mean. That's just how things go in S-Rank. If you can't handle that, then just leave!"

"I will not leave!" Michelle replied.

Stephanie and Paris frowned. How dare Michelle to go in against their leader?

Chloe actually had a little bit of respect for what Michelle was doing. No one had ever gone in against Emily. But that was always for a reason. Emily would make sure to make her live a hell right now.

"Then do I have to make you?" Emily asked, glaring daggers at the blonde.

Kate and Chris looked at each other with raised eyebrows. They didn't know what to do. It has never been so hostile in S-Rank before.

"Then make me," Michelle provoked.

Emily took out her duel disk, placing it over her wrist. "If you want to take me on, then try to come at me with full force."

Michelle looked at the duel disk. Right. The best way to put someone on his place in a Duel School was dueling, of course.

But she wondered how it ever got to this. At her previous Duel School, things like these never happened.

She slipped her own duel disk on, placing her deck into the deck holder.

""DUEL!""

"My turn! I play 1st Movement Solo!" Emily said, her magic card materializing in front of her. "When I control no monsters, this card allows me to special summon a Melodious monster from my hand or deck. I special summon Aria the Melodious Diva from my deck!"

Aria the Melodious Diva, Level 4, 1600/1200

"Then I activate the effect of Sonata in my hand! When I control a Melodious Diva, I can special summon her from my hand!"

A blue-haired yellow-skinned woman appeared on the field, her melody echoing through the duel field.

Sonata the Melodious Diva, Level 3, 1200/1000

"I release Aria and Sonata!" Emily announced, the two monster disappearing from the field. **"Enchanting melody echoing in the heaven. Awaken the sleeping virtuoso. Come, level 8 Melodious Maestra - Prodigy Mozart!"**

The melody of the red-dressed woman really seemed to be one of heavens as she descended onto the field.

Melodious Maestra - Prodigy Mozart, Level 8, 2600/2000

"I set one card and end my turn."

"My turn! Draw!"

At that moment Riley walked in, a frown forming on her face when she saw what was going on. "Why is everyone doing nothing and why does Emily have Prodigy Mozart out? Why is she even dueling in the first place?!"

The questions she suddenly threw at them prompted Lamar to explain. "Well, Emily and Michelle kind of got in a small fight."

"I set one monster, one card and end my turn."

**Emily: 4000, Cards x1**

**Michelle: 4000, Cards x4**

"Pfff," Emily went. "You aim to take me on with stupid moves like that?"

"They're not stupid," Michelle countered. "They're part of my strategy!"

"Whatever," Emily shrugged. "My turn! Draw!"

"I activate Prodigy Mozart's effect! Once per turn, I can special summon one Melodious monster from my hand!" Emily explained. "I special summon Serena the Melodious Diva to my field in defense position!"

Serena the Melodious Diva, Level 4, 400/1900

"And when I control a Melodious monster, I can special summon Canon the Melodious Diva from my hand!" Emily revealed, a woman with blue hair appearing on the field.

Canon the Melodious Diva, Level 4, 1400/2000

Then, Emily's trap flipped open. "Trap activate!"

A powerful shock crashed down upon Michelle, hurting her a lot. "Ahhhhh!"

Michelle: 4000 → 1600

Michelle slowly recovered from the shock, Emily starting to explain. "Melodious Melody of Divine Punishment deals 800 points of damage to you for each Melodious monster I control."

Emily threw her hand forward, wasting no time and immediately entering her battle phase. "Canon, destroy her face-down monster!"

Michelle's face-down monster easily got destroyed by the sound waves Canon unleashed, the monster being revealed: a dark colored hedgehog.

"Shaddoll Hegehog's effect activates!" Michelle informed. "When its flipped I can add 1 Shaddoll magic or trap card from my deck to my hand!"

A card ejected itself from out of the deck holder, Michelle adding it to her.

"Prodigy Mozart, direct attack!" Emily ordered. "Graceful Wave!"

Prodigy Mozart fired its attack at the blonde girl, who in response activated her trap. "Trap activate, Shaddoll Roots!"

7 evil roots descended out of a small core, taking Prodigy Mozart's attack.

"When activated, Shaddoll Roots gets summoned as an effect monster," Michelle explained.

The 7 entities disappeared into the small core, the core falling to pieces after the entities were in it.

"Turn end."

"My turn! Draw! I summon Shaddoll Hound!"

Shaddoll Hound, Level 4, 1600/900

She then picked out the magic card she had added to her hand through Shaddoll Hedgehog, activating it. "I activate Nephe Shaddoll Fusion, declaring the attribute Light!"

Shaddoll Hound's armor then became white instead of purple, making it give off some sort of heavenly vibe.

"Then I activate Nephe Shaddoll's Fusion second effect!" Michelle declared. "And that allows me to Fusion summon!"

Shaddoll Hound and a purple colored dragon disappeared into the swirling vortex, Michelle starting her chant.

**"The shell from beyond! Emotionless dragon! Come together to form a new entity! Puppet of darkness, your strings shall be followed to your source! Let the light of darkness disappear! Fusion summon! Level 8! El Shaddoll Nephilim!"**

Everyone watched as a monster appeared that looked similar to one of Paris' Gem Knights, multiple purple threads coming from the monster.

El Shaddoll Nephilim, Level 8, 2800/2500

"I activate Shaddoll's Hound effect!" Michelle announced. "When it's sent to the graveyard through a card effect, I can change the position of one monster on the field. I can the position of Serena!"

Shaddoll Hound's spirit appeared on the field, biting at Serena, forcing her into an offensive stance.

"Then I activate El Shaddoll Nephilim's effect! When she's special summoned, I can discard 1 Shaddoll card from my deck!" Michelle explained, discarding one of her cards. "I discard Shaddoll Beast, activating it's effect! When it's sent to the graveyard through a card effect, I can draw one card!"

Michelle drew one card, giving it a good look before adding it to her hand, playing another. "I activate Shaddoll Fusion!"

Another swirling vortex appeared, a lizard and a falcon disappearing into it.

**"Dark toy reptile! Reincarnating falcon! Give birth to the sorceress that flies on the back on the demonic dragon, restricting all allies that attempt to assist our enemy! Fusion summon! Level 5! El Shaddoll Midrash!"**

A green-haired girl riding a dragon descended upon the field, her thread being connected with some of those on Nephilim's back.

El Shaddoll Midrash, Level 5, 2200/800

"Nephilim, attack Prodigy Mozart!" Michelle ordered.

Nephilim shot a dark beam out of her right hand, immediately destroying Prodigy Mozart.

Emily: 4000 → 3800

"Midrash, attack Serena!"

Midrash shot a magical beam from her scepter, nailing Serena in the head with it.

Emily: 3800 → 2000

"Turn end."

**Emily: 2000, Cards x0**

**Michelle: 1600, Cards x1**

Emily was about to draw her card, but a voice prevented her from that.

"Stop it! The both of you!" Chris ordered, the two girls lowering their duel disks.

"You are supposed to be a team! If you keep fighting against each other instead of with each other, then no one of S-Rank will be able to win the tournament!" Chris scolded.

"Chris is right," Kate agreed. "I don't want two of my best duelists fighting against each other."

Emily deactivated her duel disk, Michelle soon following. They both crossed their arms, turning away from each other.

"Try to solve your problems before the tournament starts," Kate said.

"Or else, you two can already kiss the tournament goodbye," Chris finished.

Chris and Kate headed back towards the office, handling all kinds of administrational work.

Both Emily and Michelle joined a respective group, Emily's group, well, actually just Emily, Paris and Stephanie glared daggers at Michelle, while Riley and Chloe had a worried look on their face.

Michelle Victorrama and Brandon Kanbara. They were just two new duelists, two good duelists. But everything went downhill from the moment they joined.

They could only hope that it wouldn't get even worse.

* * *

**Credits to Ghost83 for coming up with most of Nephilim's summon chant.**

**I don't know if I had already said this before, but it could be the case that, for some cards, I might use the TCG/OCG effect, for some just purely the anime effect, and for some a combination of both. Because, well, you know... I can.**

**I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and I wish all of you a nice day.**

**See ya!**


	8. Chapter 8

**I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh! Arc-V. I only own my OCs.**

* * *

James' marvelous idea.

* * *

"Are we complete?"

Chris looked around to find if everyone was present, but there was one person missing.

Brandon was late, as always.

Everyone then shot a look towards the corner where he usually resides. There was a good possibility that he was there without anyone noticing.

But there was nothing either.

"We'll just wait for him then," said Chris, leaving the room for the time being.

Not too soon after Chris left, the blond walked into the room.

He threw his bag with the others, looking around with a frown on his face. "No one around to keep an eye on us?"

"The one who was supposed to do that just left because you're late," Stephanie informed.

The blond shrugged. "Oh well."

"If you want to stay with the S-Ranks, you need to show full commitment. That includes being on time," Emily scolded. "Do I make myself clear?"

Brandon nodded. "Right. I'm sorry. I'll try to be on time from this day onward."

Everyone, except for James, frowned. Did he just not ignore or shrug off something that somebody said to him?

Lamar then placed both hands on his shoulders, slightly shaking the boy. "Who are you and what have you done to Brandon Kanbara?"

The boy smirked, removing Lamar's hands from his shoulders. "I am Brandon Kanbara. I'm just starting to feel at home here. That's all there is to it really."

The blond then changed his attention to Eldon and Daniel. "I want to apologize to the both of you."

They both frowned at that.

"To you for acting the way I did against you that day," Brandon said to Eldon, changing his attention to Daniel. "And to you for calling you a prissy boy."

Daniel frowned at that. Did the guy actually just sincerely apologized?

"It's fine. The way I acted towards you wasn't very appropriate either," Eldon admitted.

Brandon then extended his hand, searching for a handshake. "Let's call it a quit. No hard feelings."

Eldon smiled, accepting the boy's handshake. "No hard feelings."

He then changed his attention to Daniel, a smirk present on his face. "How about you?"

"It's fine."

He wouldn't shake his hand. He didn't know if the apology was sincere or not.

But the blond boy didn't seem to be bothered by that. "Good."

Chris then walked back into the room, seeing that the blond boy everyone waited on was present.

"Seems we can begin." Chris took his place across the group, everyone looking at him in anticipation. "Today we're going to do the same as yesterday: tag duels."

"But I technically don't really have a deck available right now," James interrupted.

"And we weren't present yesterday," Brandon butted in. "So we didn't really have partners anyway."

"That's actually quite beneficial. We didn't have an even number so someone had to go solo then," Chris said. "But now, everyone can have a partner."

James could hear Brandon complain. He guessed that Brandon was the one that needed to go and wanted to go solo.

"I won't be making the partnerships," Chris announced. "Which means that, just like yesterday, you get to choose your own partner."

Several people then shot a look to each other as some sort of agreement.

"You also immediately go to work with your partner. Whatever you do doesn't matter as long as you learn something from it," Chris explained. "At the end of the day, you will take on the other tag teams to see which tag team has actually done the best work today. You can now search your tag partner."

The boys quickly retreated from the group, Lamar and Daniel discussing about who was allowed to be Brandon's partner.

"Brandon and I are like a car," Lamar began. "A car without a motor can't work. But a car with a motor can. I can't work without Brandon. But with Brandon, I am able to work."

Brandon frowned, blinking a couple of times. He then turned his head to James. "Does he always say things nobody understands?"

"Most of the time," James replied, then starting to look around. "Where's Eldon?"

Brandon noticed that Eldon was indeed gone. Hadn't he retreated with the 4 of them?

He then jerked his head towards the direction Eldon was at when he found him. "There he is."

James turned around towards designated direction, sighing when he saw it. "Trying his luck with Emily once again...?"

And from what Brandon knew, and James tone, that could never end well. Last week, he carried her bag and other belongings. And that same day, he even tied her shoelace without her asking it. It looked like it that he was more of a dog to Emily than a person.

"Hey Emily," Eldon greeted, immediately asking that where he originally approached her for. "Would you like to be my partner?"

Emily frowned for a bit. That he even dared to ask.

"No, Eldon. I won't be your partner."

"But... why not?" he then asked. "I mean, we both still don't have a partner yet."

Emily's eyes then started to dart all over the place. A partner. She quickly needed to find someone to pretend she had a partner already.

Brandon was then pulled away from his group, his expression displaying confusion. "Later, guys. I guess."

He then came to a stop, quickly glancing to his left and the right for a bit, not sure what just happened.

"You're her partner?" Eldon then asked.

Brandon then looked to his side. So Emily was the one who dragged him away.

And she tried to make Eldon believe that he was her partner.

This could actually benefit him too. It would stop Daniel and Lamar from arguing about who got to be his partner.

And Emily was the leader of the S-Ranks. Which meant that she probably was one of the most skilled duelists among them.

"Apparently," he answered. He had decided to just go with it. "Sorry, man. She asked me quite fast."

"It's fine."

He then went to join the guys, a mopey look on his face. Brandon actually felt sorry for him.

"Thanks for helping me out," Emily said.

"I can say the same to you," Brandon said. "So does this mean we're partners?"

Emily then frowned. She clearly was surprised. "If you want to team up with me so badly, then I'll accept your offer."

It was Brandon's turn to frown. "You're the one who dragged me over here."

He had a point there.

"You should be honored to be the partner of S-Rank's captain, you know."

"I'll keep it in mind."

"Now, as leader of S-Rank and as your partner and you being the newbie, I shall teach you more about S-Rank, even though you're already quite familiar with this place," Emily said. "First, there is a group that is very good to keep on your side. And that's my group."

Brandon frowned. "There are different groups inside a group? That's new for me."

"There obviously is the boy's group. James, Lamar, Eldon and Daniel. You'll probably hang out with them a lot too, being a guy," Emily started. "But my group is the best here. Existing out of Chloe, Paris, Stephanie, Riley and myself."

"Then where does that other girl belong too?" Brandon asked.

Emily knew that he meant Michelle, and thus she immediately answered what she thought. "Not at this Duel School."

Emily clearly had a great dislike for Michelle. So much was clear to the blond teen. But he still didn't really understand the whole group in a group thing.

"Those groups. I don't have to become part of a group or something?" the blond asked. "I prefer to roll solo."

Emily then laughed. "Rolling solo? It's cute to think that you actually think that you're better off without cooperating with me."

"I'm not saying that. I just prefer rolling solo," the blond clarified. "I don't even know what you can do besides looking pretty."

"Good that you noticed that too," Emily complimented, taking out her duel disk. "Let's just practice our tactics."

Brandon nodded, taking out his own duel disk.

"Let's show 'em."

* * *

The end of the day had drawn nearer than Emily had thought. Working with Brandon was actually a refreshment compared with working with the other guys.

This guy actually was capable of being serious.

And not only in theory it worked well, but in practical use it went even better.

The other couples they needed to take on were Riley and Michelle, Stephanie and Paris, Daniel and Lamar, and Chloe and Eldon.

Together they easily flew through their duels. He was actually more cooperative than Emily thought he would be.

If she needed to to win a tournament or something through tag dueling, Brandon will definitely be the first name on her potential partner list.

"Volcano Frenzy!"

Blaster took down Eldon's last monster, completely fading out Eldon and Chloe's last remaining life points.

To say that Brandon was disappointed with the challenge the other teams had put up was an understatement.

"I didn't even use my three strongest dragons..." he muttered, then shrugging. "Oh well. It was fun to let my other dragons play for a bit."

Chris and Kate had complimented the two on the good work. They had most certainly enjoyed it.

Emily felt extremely proud of what she had achieved. Not only did she manage to get probably the strongest duelist in their duel school as her partner, but she actually managed to work together with him. A thing that seemed to be impossible, judging from the way he acted during his first days at Your Move. The other S-Ranks could and should definitely learn from that.

"So, Cap. Satisfied with my performance?" he asked in a playful manner.

"It wasn't bad," Emily admitted. "I'll consider you as a partner when I ever need one."

Brandon smirked, a bit of a playful tone entering his voice. "I feel flattered."

"You'd better be," she warned.

He then watched her join her girl group, an amused smirk on his face.

She most certainly was a lot more... sassy at Duel School than she was when she at his house back then. He guessed that it had to do something with her being the leader, and he could understand that.

But she was interesting.

He definitely gave her that.

* * *

"Sir. We have tried to improve the cards, but it seems to have failed."

The silver-haired teen raised his eyebrows at that. "Failed?"

"Yes, sir."

The man was waiting for the teen to explode. But that didn't happen, instead he sighed. "It isn't going as planned, it seems..."

The scientist bowed in an apologetic manner. "Our sincerest apologies for that, sir. The fact is that we have to less information on Pendulum monsters and Pendulum summon to perfect it."

"No need for apologies. I'm aware of it too. You try your hardest to perfect them," the teen spoke. "And like you said, there are so many questions about Pendulum monsters that have yet to be answered. Where does it come from? How did it come to existence? Those are things nobody has an answer to."

"It seems that we need much more help if we want the Pendulum monsters ready for the tournament," the scientist said. "But that's as good as impossible to get."

"It isn't." The teen clasped his hands together, fingers intertwining. "It seems that we need his help."

The scientist frowned at the mention of 'his'. He clearly had no idea what the teen was talking about. "Help from who?"

"You'll see."

If there was something the scientist had learned, then it was to not to try to find out what the silver-haired teen meant. The teen hated it when people tried to learn of stuff they didn't necessarily need to know or what they would come to know anytime soon.

The scientist ended the conversation with an "I see", promising the boy that he would do anything in his might to fix the cards.

The man in the black suit then took a stand in front of the teen's desk, hands hidden behind his back. "I shall make arrangements with them to work out a deal, sir."

"Bother not, Johnson."

The man then tilted his head to the side, facing the teen with raised eyebrows. "But sir, it's necessary to do this."

"I know," the teen acknowledged. "Therefore, I will visit them myself."

"Well, you're necessary to work out a deal with them, sir," Johnson informed.

"I know," the teen said. "But let's keep our visit a surprise."

"A surprise?" Johnson's frown became even deeper. While the teen was the owner of a big company, a school, and was an elite duelist, he sure could be really... incomprehensible.

The teen nodded. "Yeah. I might even run into the other duel child prodigy while we're at it."

Johnson's frown faded. So that what it was all about. The other duel child prodigy.

"You really want to meet him, it seems." Johnson saw the small frown appearing on the teen's forehead, making him fear that he said something wrong. "I mean, why do you necessarily have to meet him? We don't really have any business with him concerning Pendulum."

The teen's eyes narrowed, Johnson's body began to shake. His boss sure was intimidating when he looked like that, even for a big man like himself. Not weird when he was the person with probably the most power of the whole city.

The teen remained silent for a short while. And Johnson didn't know if it was a good sign or a bad sign. All he hoped was that he wouldn't get fired for saying what he had just said.

But then the silver-haired teen spoke up.

"We actually do have business with him. In case you forgot it, the Dragonic Emperor is in possession of Pendulum monsters himself. His Pendulum monsters are those of the purest kind: the real one. If we can get him to cooperate with us, then we will be able to mass produce Pendulum monsters much faster," the boy explained. "And, of course I want to meet the other duel child prodigy. I hold him in high regard."

"But sir, you've never met him," Johnson protested.

The teen shot him an icy glare, making Johnson tremble once again. Johnson reminded himself that needed to watch his words from this point onwards.

"That doesn't mean that I can't have respect for what he has achieved," the teen spoke. "Nobody has reached what he has reached at the mere age of 15. The level he's at right now is also unparalleled for his age."

"That seems high unlikely for a 15-years old boy," Johnson said. "The most 15-years old boys are just going to school like any normal kid."

"Any 17-years old normally doesn't own a company and a school, do they?" the teen swiftly countered.

Johnson gritted his teeth. His boss sure could counter him very well. "Right."

"But that's because Brandon Kanbara is different. Many people become a pro because they want fame or wealth, but Brandon Kanbara didn't choose to become so strong. It's his way of dueling that made him like that."

The teen took out his own deck. The deck he would duel the blond teen with one day.

"He duels with passion. He places his heart and soul in his deck. Every card he draws holds a small bit of his passion for dueling," the teen told to Johnson. "And that's what will make him the best for a long time to come. A lot of duelists get consumed by the wealth and fame, discarding things like passion and fun. Therefore, duelists only stay in their prime for 2, 3 years, 4 years maximum."

"Do you really think he will stay on top for long?" Johnson asked. "I mean, you are the best duelist in this whole city. What am I saying? You're known through whole of Asia!"

The teen frowned. "You have never seen him duel, Johnson. He isn't the second half of the two dueling child prodigies for nothing. He is also known through whole Asia."

Johnson said nothing. Was he that loyal to his boss that him to never notice the other duel child prodigy?

"Japan has been longing for a new duelist who can dominate at the top. That's why they have high hopes for every new prospect, but they don't seem to be able to handle the pressure." The teen then stood up from his chair, watching over the city through his large window. "But now that they have high hopes for two, they have more chance to have a duelist like that."

"Sir. Why are you talking so great of Brandon Kanbara while you're an elite duelist yourself?" Johnson asked. He didn't really understand his boss at times. Not that he would say that. It would get him fired.

The teen closed his eyes for a small bit. It seemed that Johnson thought that rivalry always was hostile one.

"Johnson," he began, "a rivalry doesn't always have to be where one talks about his rival in a bad way and sees himself as the best. Like I said earlier, I hold Brandon Kanbara in high regard. But that doesn't mean that I don't want to beat him. Despite being the owner of a company and a school, I still want to be the best duelist in the world and I'm sure of it that Brandon Kanbara shares that goal with me."

Johnson said nothing. He only reminded himself to say something in which Brandon Kanbara was present or necessary.

It forced him to listen to what his boss thought of Brandon Kanbara and to be honest, he couldn't care about that.

His boss was the best. He would never doubt that.

* * *

Brandon frowned. This was just getting ridiculous.

He normally didn't care. Mostly because he never noticed before.

But he could hear her shout. Again. It actually began to hurt his poor ears. Nobody ever shouted that much at All-Star Trinity. Well, except for Justin when he was mad again.

And because of all the shouting, he was interested in what made the blonde girl shout. She was just shouting around at the boys and at Michelle. Even Chloe needed to suffer for a bit. Poor Chloe.

From one side he could understand it. S-Rank was a good Duel School, but against the likes of LDS and All-Star Trinity, a student of theirs would never reach any further then the quarter finals. And even to reach the quarter finals there would e a lot of luck necessary.

Therefore, they all needed to become stronger and Emily knew that too and that was probably also the reason why she's so harsh on them.

But from the other side, the shouting was a wrong thing to make them stronger. The constant shouting was actually quite de-moralizing and everyone, except for the people of Emily's group, was annoyed by it. It would only make them turn against her and in order to win a tournament as big as the one that was coming, a Duel School needed to be a unity if they wanted to have at least one student to advance far into the tournament.

He stood up, stretched himself out and decided to make an end to all the shouting for the day.

Slowly but steady he walked up towards the blonde girl, placing a hand on her shoulder.

She turned around, expecting it to be Eldon who would try to ask her out again. "No, Eldon. Oh. Brandon."

"I feel offended that you can't distinguish the two of us," Brandon fake pouted. "Anyway, you should stop shouting so much. You'll loose your voice if you do it too much, Cap."

Emily frowned before she glared at him. "Sorry, but that's not possible. I'm the leader of the S-Ranks."

"You can be a leader without shouting so much, you know," Brandon informed. He knew how bothersome it could be to be a leader. He was one at his previous Duel School too. "Want me to help you to lighten the load a bit?"

"Help? Lighten the load?" Emily repeated.

Brandon nodded. "I'll take the boys and you take the girls. It will make it easier for you to do your job."

"Thanks for the offer, but the answer is no," Emily replied. "I'm the leader and what I say goes."

"Alright then," shrugged Brandon, smirking. "Then you'll still be stuck with Eldon asking you out constantly and with Lamar constantly making no sense. And James being James. Seems it will be unable for you to impress Kate and Chris that way. Oh well."

Impressing Kate and Chris, huh. That was what she was trying to do. The better she did as leader, the more it would justify her position with Kate and Chris. Getting rid of the troublesome guys group for the time being could help her with that.

It didn't seem that Brandon was after her position of leader, so there was no real danger in letting him do that.

And not having to put up with Eldon and his attempts to ask her out would mean the world to her.

"Wait," she ordered, stopping the boy from his trip back to his corner. "I have reconsidered your offer."

Brandon raised an eyebrow, clearly amused. "Oh?"

"You can have the boys side," Emily answered. "But **don't** try to go after my spot as leader of the S-Ranks. Got that?"

The blond boy smirked. He got her right where he wanted her. "Alright." He then made a dismissive hand movement. "Don't worry, Cap. I'm not after your leader position."

"Good."

He then walked past her, planning to leave to another room. "I'll promise you that you won't regret this, Cap."

"Boys. You are all coming with me," Brandon ordered, Emily nodding in approval.

The boys smiled.

"Sweet! We don't get to be shouted at anymore!" James cheered.

"But we'll be split from the rest of the group," Eldon said.

"Does it matter? Emily approves of it," Lamar informed.

"But if he will be much of an improvement is a thing to be seen..." Daniel sighed.

The boys then followed Brandon out of the room, heading to another one.

And what an improvement he proved to be.

* * *

They laughed with each other, dueled against each other and the atmosphere in general was very good.

Brandon Kanbara had managed to make them enjoy S-Rank for the time being.

Of course, as he had promised Emily, Brandon trained them to do that what Kate and Chris had told them to do.

But his way of doing that was way different.

Emily wanted them to do it the way she wanted it, not involving the opinions or ideas of somebody else.

Brandon was the complete opposite. Just like Emily, he was strict. But he actually talked with them about the things that actually needed to be better and if they had any ideas to actually improve that. And if he came up with an idea himself, he allowed others opinion about it.

After he decided that they had done enough training, he just let them do whatever they wished to do. Dueling, fooling around, everything.

And while they were just fooling around, Brandon actually helped James with helping him learn about other summon mechanics than Fusion, seeing that he had proceeded to build a deck that also had Synchro and Xyz in it. And James had, outside of helping the other with coming up with ideas, done nothing because he didn't have a deck.

Eldon was still neutral on it, but the other guys were sure of it.

Emily was unsuitable to be leader of the S-Ranks. There needed to be a new leader as soon as possible.

In case of leadership, Brandon was practically the same as Michelle, who had been some sort of leader at her previous Duel School. They both were more of 'talkers', involving the ideas and opinions of others. There also was no shouting with them.

With Emily, you were guaranteed to get shouted at at least 5 times a day. And she didn't involve any ideas or opinions of others.

A new leader would definitely give them a better shot at one of them winning that tournament.

* * *

The boys entered the room with a smile, quickly grabbing their bags, heading home.

Brandon soon followed, a satisfied smirk on his face.

The boys' smiles didn't go unnoticed to Emily and the others, so they confronted the blond boy.

"What have you done with them?" Emily asked.

Brandon hid his hands in his pockets, shrugging. "Pretty much that what was told to do."

"Then why are they smiling?" Emily asked. "It surely couldn't be that fun!?"

"Don't freak out so much, Cap. If you want to know why they are smiling, I think you must ask that to them. Not to me," Brandon spoke, grabbing his own bag. "Anyway, I'm going home, too."

He opened the door, standing still in front of the opened door, doorknob still in his hand. "By the way, I'm taking the boys tomorrow too. Just so you know."

"Fine with me," Emily said. "But if they fail during the tournament, then it's your fault!"

"Don't worry, Cap," Brandon insisted. "They won't fail."

"They'd better not," she warned in response as the blond left.

He then stood outside, leaving the girls as the only ones in the room.

He smirked to himself and to what Emily had said.

"They won't fail. Because you all will."

* * *

"You know, I really think we should try to overthrow Emily."

Riley frowned at what James said.

"Overthrow Emily?" she asked. "Do you know how mad she will be when she discovers you want that?"

"Come on, Riley! You know how terrible she is!" James said. "She yells at everyone, doesn't include opinions and ideas from anyone else, creates seperation in the group, and is just mean in general!"

"Alright. I agree with you on that. But there is no one else who can lead S-Rank," Riley spoke. "Emily is doing it for the third year now. She knows how it works!"

"Brandon is a good leader. And Michelle was a leader at her previous Duel School wasn't she?" he remembered. "If we can get one of the two as new leader, everything will become much better!"

Riley thought everything over again. This could go either entirely wrong or entirely well.

It was true that Emily was everything James had listed, but it was also like she said. Emily did this 2 times before. She knew how things worked. And she felt that she was the only one who deserved to be the leader.

But then Riley started to wonder. Was it really the best to place Emily's desires above those of S-Rank, who practically all had the same desire?

"I-I don't know James," Riley admitted. "Emily will be enraged if someone else would become the leader."

"But we don't need to take Emily's feelings in account!" James protested. "The majority of S-Rank want a new leader! We have to take the feelings of the group in account to have a good chance to win the tournament!"

"You know what," she began, "I will think about it. But I won't promise that I will help you overthrow her!"

James was about so say something, but then he noticed that they were close to the meeting place where Brandon would be waiting for them.

"Let's ask Brandon how he thinks about this!" he proposed, immediately running off.

Riley sighed. She hadn't even agreed to helping him, and he was already asking other people what they thought about it.

The blond stood up from his spot underneath the tree as he saw them approach, slightly taken back by the look on James' face.

"We need your opinion on something," he said.

"No. He needs your opinion on something," she said, pointing to James.

Blond eyebrows were raised, while a question came out of his mouth. "And you need my opinion on what exactly?"

"The fact that Emily is leader of S-Rank," James answered. "What do you think about that?"

He stayed silent for a while. James and Riley weren't sure what he was going to say, but they were interested nonetheless.

"I'll give you my honest opinion on it. S-Rank is a group that needs to have some freedom to improve themselves. They need to have the possibility to use their own ideas into improving and from what I know, Emily sadly enough doesn't do that."

James began to smile. If they could persuade Brandon in joining them and even try to make him the leader, they would be standing very strong already!

"However—"

'However'. That could never be good.

"—I do think that S-Rank also needs to get tamed a little bit. So that they won't have to much freedom and that they won't forget that they also have to learn something. Emily is strict enough to do that."

"So?" James went.

"So I think she's a good leader, but she does need to improve her flaws," he explained. "Which means that she must be a little bit more 'fun' and tolerating."

He then looked James straight in the eye, his serious expression becoming even more serious. "Why do you ask?"

"Don't even worry about it," he replied.

Brandon shrugged, heaving a small sigh. "If you say so. Now then, get to training, you two."

They nodded and went to training, one with a big smile on his face.

During the running James thought of a marvelous idea on how to get a new leader.

It was good and it would become even better.

* * *

**I hope you all enjoyed this chapter and I wish all of you a nice day.**

**See ya!**


	9. Chapter 9

**I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh! Arc-V. I only own my OC's.**

* * *

The destined meeting.

* * *

The alarms continued to go crazy as the All-Star Trinity security went to search for the intruders, greatly wondering how someone was able to get past their security.

"President, what are we going to do when they got us?"

"Just keep walking. As soon as we meet him we're safe."

The silver-haired continued to walk straight ahead. He had truly no idea where the one the students of All-Star Trinity called 'Master' was hiding at.

However, finding the other half of the dueling child prodigies would help them greatly in their search.

The more he kept walking, the more he felt that strong aura.

The aura that revealed the presence of an emperor; the Dragonic Emperor, to be exact.

"There they are!"

The security had found them, hurrying over to them to get them out.

The silver-haired teen men quickly got in front of him, preventing the security from getting at him.

"President, go. We'll keep them busy."

The teen nodded, continuing his way.

Johnson sighed, bringing his hand to his forehead. "I knew it was a bad idea to come unexpected."

* * *

The teen had decided to just follow the strong aura that he felt.

He was sure of it that it was the one of Brandon Kanbara, and that if he just went the way it came from that he would find him.

He passed through the last door, walking through a long, small hall.

The hall gave a feeling of hostility, as if he could suddenly be shot right at the spot for getting too close to Master.

But luckily for the teen, nothing happened, allowing him to peacefully continue his way.

There was no security to be seen, too. His men were really helping him out. He would thank them for that.

He then came to a stop before a large door. Guessing it was the room Master would be in, he prepared to get in but footsteps prevented him from doing that.

A blond boy walked in front of the door, coming from another hallway on the right.

"It's a pleasure to finally meet you, Dragonic Emperor," the silver-haired teen greeted. "Or should I say Brandon Kanbara?"

"Fancy meeting you here," the blond greeted back. "But this is the farthest you will go, Alternate Overlord. Or should I say..."

The boy closed his eyes, opened them, and a friendly smirk appeared on his features.

"...Leonardo Declan?"

* * *

Michelle sat down on the chair that was left empty, smiling at James and Riley.

"Hey guys," she greeted. "So what did you want to talk to me about?"

Riley looked at James who had a large and idiotic smile on his face. He really was way too enthusiastic about it all.

"Do you want to be the leader of S-Rank?" he bluntly asked.

"What?" Michelle asked. "Leader of S-Rank? Me? I can't do that!"

"You can!" James replied. "You have been some sort of leader on your previous Duel School, and most of the guys are fine with it!

"Most of the guys?" Riley asked with a frown. It was the first time she heard about something like that.

James nodded. "Daniel and Lamar want another leader too. Eldon is still a bit on Emily's side, and Brandon is neutral on it."

"But I'm not accepted by the girls," Michelle countered. "And there are more girls than boys in S-Rank."

"That's right," Riley butted in. "They would never listen to her if she would become the leader. They are too loyal to Emily for that."

"Then we have to vote!"

The two girls frowned on him, not sure if he was joking again or if he was being serious.

He noticed the frowns, frowning back. "What? I'm serious!"

"Voting?" Riley began. "That's your most stupid idea yet."

"It isn't! S-Rank exists out of 11 members. Stephanie and Paris will definitely choose Emily's side, but Lamar, Daniel, Riley and I will choose yours. We can persuade Eldon to do the same, Brandon is neutral so we can do the same, and maybe we can persuade Chloe too!"

"Chloe?" Riley asked. "I don't think that's possible. She's part of Emily's group. And by the way, I wasn't sure yet!"

"But Emily is constantly being mean to her. If we use that against her, we can get her on our side!" James explained, completely ignoring Riley's other remark.

Michelle thought about it for a while. While being leader of S-Rank would be a nice achievement, she would make too many enemies. Emily already didn't like her, and thus her group, except for Riley and Chloe, who was nice to everyone, automatically did the same.

And then there still was the guy Brandon Kanbara. She honestly didn't know if she was able to get him to listen to her.

There were way too many disadvantages to it.

"I'm sorry, but I can't do it," Michelle said, standing up. "It will only make things worse."

She then left, James stupidly blinking while Riley gave him a slap on the back of his head.

"Now look what you've done!" she went. "Now you have someone against you, James."

James rubbed the back of his head, immediately responding. "She's not against me. She's neutral in some sort of way."

Riley shook her head at the boy. She knew that it was a bad idea.

But James refused to stop here.

He would make his plan work.

* * *

Brandon called someone throug his Duel Disk while Leonardo patiently waited.

"Stop your search," he ordered. "I got the intruder."

The security did indeed stop their search, allowing Leonardo and the ones accompanying him to relax.

"Sorry about the hostility," Brandon said. "But you never know what people want to do to Master."

"Don't worry," Leonardo insisted. "I understand that."

"Should have known it was LDS. They are the only ones able to break through our security," Brandon said. "But now then, what are you here for?"

"I have some business that I want to discuss with the ones you call Master," he replied.

"Master? I'm afraid I can't allow that," Brandon said. "Unless you have his permission of course."

"I'm afraid we don't have that," Leonardo spoke.

Brandon smirked, coming to the teen's rescue. "Because it's you, I can work something out for you. Just give me a sec."

"I would greatly appreciate that," Leonardo answered.

The blond proceeded to make the call, the voice of Master answering to him.

_"Brandon Kanbara, how can I help you?"_

"Oh not me. A guest of ours," he said.

_"A guest? Who is it?"_

"The other half of the duel child prodigies," the blond answered. "The Alternate Overlord."

_"Alternate Overlord..."_

It remained silent for a short while but the response ultimately came.

_"Let him in."_

"As you wish, Master."

The blond cut off the call, putting away his Duel Disk. "You heard it. You're allowed to enter. Feel free to act at home."

The large door opened, allowing Leonardo entrance to a room with dimmed light.

Brandon left into the direction he appeared from, while Leonardo set one foot into the room.

He then stopped, looking back at the blond. "You're allowed to come along. It's something you might benefit from too."

At that, the blond raised an eyebrow, wondering how it should benefit him.

He then smirked. If Leonardo Declan, owner of Leo Corporation, informed him of the fact that it might benefit him too, then it must be something very good. Why else would he want to do business with Master?

"If you say so."

He then turned, walking into the large room with Leonardo.

The auras of the both raged through the room and Master knew and felt it.

Their duel would be a great one.

One that would go down in history.

* * *

"So we are the only ones who are against Emily?"

James nodded at Daniel's question, a grin forming on his face. "But Brandon is neutral, so we might persuade him in joining us!"

"But I'm not against Emily..." Eldon spoke. "So then why am I here?"

"Because," James began, "we are part of S-Rank. The boys part. Now we have a chance to hang out without the girls!"

"Brandon isn't here," Lamar said. "So it's like without the girls and one boy."

"Yeah, just call him," Eldon said. "He's one of us, too."

"I tried to but he didn't pick up," James answered. "Then I tried a second time, and told to me that he was busy with something else."

"I'm sorry, but this is our usual hang out place."

The boys looked up and found a dark-skinned boy in front of them. The boy was accompanied by a group.

"I'm sorry but we were here first," James responded.

"Besides, it's not like your name is written on this bench," Daniel butted in.

"At least people know our name," one of the group members counted.

"Well, not these people," Eldon said.

"We are Your Show Duel School," one of the group members introduced. "A Duel School that has a better reputation than yours."

"Indeed. The only Duel School's that are able to beat us are LDS and All-Star Trinity," the 'leader' spoke. "Other Duel School's have to try really hard for that."

"Care for a challenge then?" James asked. "Our Duel School against yours."

"Are you crazy?" Daniel genuinely asked. "We already have All-Star Trinity coming at us."

"All-Star Trinity? You guys?" the 'leader' asked. "They will defeat you without any effort."

"They are strong," Eldon admitted. "But beating us without any effort? That's a rash thing to say."

_Of course they're strong. One of them is with you and I'm the leader of this bunch, _the dark-skinned boy said. "But, if you're scared to duel then we can do something else than duel."

"Something else than dueling?" Daniel asked. "What are you saying?"

"As you might or might not know, our Duel School is one that teaches Entertainment Dueling," the boy revealed. "Therefore, we'll have an 'entertainment battle'. The one who gets the crowd the most enjoyed, wins."

The boys shot each other unsure looks. Accepting the challenge would make it extremely busy for them, seeing that All-Star Trinity would be coming soon, too.

But turning down the challenge would give the Duel School a bad name. They would forever be known as 'the Duel School who is too scared to take on another Duel School'. Kate would be so disappointed in them that they wouldn't be able to go to Your Move anymore.

And of course, Emily would shout at them for giving the Duel School a bad name. They definitely didn't want that.

But accepting the challenge didn't necessarily have to be a problem. They were quite good and they were constantly improving. It could actually become everything except a failure.

And they had Brandon now. He was good at normal dueling and his duels often were spectacular. And spectacular things mostly entertain people.

"We accept," James went. "Your Move can't turn down a challenge."

"We can't?" Eldon asked.

"We can," Daniel answered. "Because this will cause too much drama!"

"So then, do you accept or not?" the 'leader' asked, a puzzled expression on his face. "And please, just one of you give me the answer. Not all three."

"We accept," James repeated. "Just give us a time and place!"

"Our Duel School," the boy answered. "Two days. We'll make sure that we'll have a neutral crowd ready."

"We'll be there," James replied.

"We will?" Eldon asked.

"Apparently," Daniel answered.

"Until then," the boy said, turning away. "By the way, the name's Marcellos. Remember it when you get defeated."

The three boys saw the group leave, while they noticed that it was just the three of them after they left. But they had been with four.

Where was Lamar?

He appeared from behind a tree, casually sitting down on the bench.

"Sorry, I needed to pee," he said. It was the only excuse that he could think of.

"For so long?" Eldon asked.

Lamar nodded.

He actually didn't need to pee. He knew the people of Your Show Duel School. He had been part of that Duel School before he went to Your Move.

But he left them without really officially letting them know. He had just told them that he would leave and he has never seen them again.

Therefore, he needed to prevent Your Move from going there.

And Kate and Chris were the way to do just that.

* * *

Brandon had listened to the whole conversation with body leaning against the wall, eyes closed.

He only opened his eyes once and that was exactly the reason why he was still in the room.

Leonardo had immediately headed back to LDS after he and Master reached agreement, commenting that he looked forward to their cooperation.

"Master. I know I'm not allowed to say this, but don't you think it's a risk?" Brandon asked. "We don't know anything about Pendulum. We don't know where it comes from, we don't know why it exists, and we don't know the dangers of it. Releasing them into the public could have huge risks."

Master smiled. Brandon had the urge to frown, but he didn't. "I understand you worries, Brandon. And don't worry, you are my best student. That technically makes you my right hand. But don't worry, you'll still be the best Pendulum user around."

"Honestly, that's not what it is about, Master," Brandon revealed. "It's like I say. The risks are big. We don't know what happens if one constantly uses Pendulum and for a long time. It could mean dead, for as far as we know."

"I know. And that's exactly why we have to release them into the public," Master answered. "Only by taking the risk, we know what will happen."

"Is that risk really worth it?" Brandon wondered. "If it's deadly, then a lot of Maiami's City's population will be gone."

"Just like you," Master said.

"My life is just a small price to pay if we can save many others with that," Brandon answered.

"Don't worry about this. If anything will go wrong, we will recall the Pendulum monsters," Master spoke. "You only need to be on standby. It might be possible that The Alternate Overlord needs your help."

Brandon nodded. As owner of original Pendulum monsters, Leonardo wanted his help to help him develop Pendulum monsters.

And while he was against the idea at first, his eagerness got the better of him. He really wanted to learn about Pendulum more than just the basic logic he had right now.

He had thus agreed to helping his rival and that meant that he needed to visit Leo Corporation more often than he wanted to, but it was no big problem doing that if he could learn more about Pendulum.

Brandon took a stance from his position, leaving Master's room to go back to Your Move Duel School.

He heaved a sigh, bringing his palm to his forehead.

"Why do I always agree to doing these things..."

* * *

"So let me get this straight, James agreed to having an 'entertainment battle'?" Kate asked, eyebrows raised.

"That's right," Lamar confirmed.

Kate immediately walked out of her office, taking Chris apart, explaining the whole situation to him.

He immediately went back to the group, addressing James. "Is it true that you agreed to having a battle with another Duel School?"

He grinned, nodding. "Yup!"

Chris looked at him with a serious expression, being on the verge of glaring at him. But then he smiled, giving him a hearty slap on the back. "Well done!"

"Well done?" Kate asked.

"I like entertainment dueling," Chris said. "So an entertainment battle will be cool to see, too!"

"But we can't go and do that," Kate said.

"Miss Kate is right," Emily butted in. "The duel against All-Star Trinity is coming up. This will only disrupt our preparations!"

"But it sounds really cool!" Paris went. "Besides, it's training too in some sort of way."

James stupidly nodded, while Chris nodded acknowledging.

"Alright then," Kate said, knowing the perfect way to settle this. "Everyone who doesn't want to go there, come stand with me and Emily. Everyone who wants to go, go stand with James and Chris."

The group quickly divided itself into two groups.

One group existed out of Chris, James, Paris, Eldon, Michelle and Chloe. The other group existed out of Kate, Lamar, Daniel, Stephanie and Riley.

Chris' group had more people, but there was still one person that needed to choose.

"Brandon. You're vote will be decisive," Kate revealed. "When you choose for us, we have to find another way to solve this. If you choose for Chris' group, they win."

Brandon opened an eye, only needing to know one thing. "What Duel School are we battling?"

"Your Show Duel School."

His second eye popped open. Your Show? If he remembered correctly, Marcellos was sent to that school as part of his mission.

And he actually needed Marcellos for something, so this was the perfect opportunity to get it from him.

"Everyone, grab your stuff," he ordered.

"We're going to Your Show Duel School."

* * *

**Yes, I know. The names are the Duel School are so lame as can be. But my naming skills have never been good, and never will be.**

**Now, how did I come up with Leonardo's name. Well, Leo is often a nickname used for people with the name Leonardo. Leo appears in the name of Leo Corporation and Leo Duel School. Declan is Reiji's dub name. Yes, I am that lazy. Yes, my naming skills really are that bad.**

**I hope you all enjoyed this chapter and I wish all of you a nice day.**

**See ya!**


	10. Chapter 10

**I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh Arc-V. I only own my OCs.**

** guest, well, I have just taken Reiji's father first name, and turned it into Leonardo. But, don't worry. Leonardo Declan isn't evil.**

* * *

Preparation for All-Star Trinity, off to Your Show!

* * *

"Who's van is this anyway?"

"Does it matter?"

James was wondering who's van it was while Brandon didn't really care. They had transportation towards Your Show Duel School and that was what counted.

Your Show wasn't far away from Your Move, but it was a totally different Duel School. It was bigger, more respected and more 'special'. It was the only Duel School that taught duelists that what's called Entertainment Dueling. Because of that, quite some students want to attend that Duel School.

But they were also cocky about it. Because their Duel School was so good, and because they were taught Entertainment Dueling they immediately thought they were better than others because they could do that while they couldn't.

And that was mainly why James accepted the challenge. He wanted to show Your Show that you didn't necessarily need Entertainment Dueling to enjoy a crowd.

Brandon's reason for tagging along to that Duel School was easy: Marcellos. Just like him, Marcellos was one of All-Star Trinity's Master Rank duelists, and by now probably a leader-figure at Your Show.

But Marcellos had something that Brandon needed. James' deck missed two vital parts. Marcellos had those parts.

He knew that Marcellos wouldn't just give those to him. He had already said that to Master. Brandon knew that he needed to defeat him to get those.

And that's why he came as prepared as possible. He couldn't underestimate Marcellos, no matter if he liked the guy's deck or not.

"We're here," Kate informed, the van coming to a stop.

Everyone got out of the van, the students of Your Show already awaiting them.

Brandon decided to stay in the back of his group. He needed to be able to sneak away quick and unnoticed.

"Your Move. We already expected you," one of the students said. "Please follow us."

Brandon saw it as his opportunity as the group followed, quickly glancing to the left and the right. No one was paying attention to him.

So it was time to sneak away.

He separated himself from the group, walking off in another direction using the map of the inside of the school Master had given him.

* * *

Marcellos turned around when he heard footsteps. Someone was about to disturb him from seeing how the Duel School he had a mission at was about to defeat Your Move, the Duel School were Brandon was at for his mission.

The figure came closer and more recognizable for Marcellos. As a result, a scowl formed on his face.

"Brandon."

"Marcellos."

The two stared at each other for some time before Marcellos broke the silence. "Shouldn't you be down there with your Duel School?"

"Don't waste my time," he answered, his eyes narrowing. "You know what I want and what I'm here for."

"You didn't really think that I would give that to you just because you want it and you told Master about it?" Marcellos sarcastically asked. "Why do you need them, anyway? You have some of those of your own."

"That doesn't matter," Brandon replied, taking out his Duel Disk. "And I know you wouldn't just hand them over. Therefore, I'm dueling you for it. Ante rule."

"Sounds fun," Marcellos admitted, pointing at himself with his thumb. "But what would it bring me?"

Brandon took out 3 cards, showing them to Marcellos with a serious expression. "Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon, Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon, and Clear Wing Synchro Dragon."

Marcellos' eyes widened, a grin forming on his face. "So you're setting the three parts of your soul on the line? Those monsters aren't bad."

Marcellos corrected himself inwardly. Those monsters would fit in amazingly in his deck. Those three dragons were feared through whole All-Star Trinity. With those three monsters he could easily outgrow the level of Master Rank duelist.

But, of course, he needed to duel against Brandon for it and his own cards were on the line, too.

"I accept your challenge," Marcellos said, taking out his own Duel Disk. "Get ready for a rush of excitement!"

They readied their Duel Disks, holding the 5 card tightly in their hand, giving it a quick scan to see what they could already do.

Brandon knew that he couldn't afford to lose this. He didn't care about his position as Master Rank duelist. Right now, his dragons were on the line and the two last pieces needed for James' deck.

The look in his eyes settled into a confident gaze as Marcellos grinned at him. "Duelists locked in battle!"

"Kicking the earth and dancing in the air alongside their monsters," Brandon continued.

"They storm through this field," Marcellos went.

"Behold. This is the newest and greatest evolution of dueling," Brandon finished.

"Action..." Marcellos began, before they finished together.

""...DUEL!""

* * *

They struggled.

James never thought they would have it this hard against them.

Their movements were swift and impeccable. They even were in perfect sync with their monsters.

The only one who could keep up with their swiftness and their moves was Lamar, but he couldn't do it alone.

James himself couldn't do anything without a deck, and all of them were no where near specialized in Entertainment Dueling.

Maybe he should have thought things over before accepting their challenge.

And where in the world was Brandon when you actually needed him?

James decided to send out Chloe, Michelle and Emily. Because he was as good as useless, Kate and Chris gave him the job to make sure the 'Entertainment Battle' went well from their side.

Was it a disaster? Not entirely. Were there any encouraging things in their performance? Absolutely not.

Wait, did Chloe just slip? Yup, she slipped. As if things couldn't get any worse.

Did Michelle just fall on the ground? Oh boy, this was getting worse.

Even Emily stood still, watching it while not knowing what to do while she was supposed to be 'entertaining' the crowd.

That same crowd boo'd when one of them got on the stage, while the duelists of Your Show got loud cheering.

Could somebody save them? Nope. Not even a miracle.

And the time wasn't up yet.

This would be a loooooooong battle.

* * *

"Hell Dive Whirlwind Slasher!"

Clear Wing Synchro Dragon finished off Marcellos' remaining monster while Brandon heaved a sigh of relief.

Marcellos had literally stormed through the duel field alongside his monsters. It annoyed Brandon to no end and actually made it hard for the blond to duel normally. It had also gotten pretty close with just his 1100 life left and Marcellos' 900, but luckily for him, he managed to get himself a 'Destiny Draw', as people would call it.

Through it, he managed to get out Clear Wing Synchro Dragon to finish it.

Marcellos grunted. "You've triumphed over me once again. Just like 5 years ago..."

Now that he thought of it, it had been 5 years since their last duel. But to be honest, he couldn't care so much about the fact that he had triumphed against Marcellos again. He was just glad that his dragons were still with him and that he managed to obtain the 2 missing pieces to James' new deck.

Some of Marcellos' cards were scattered across the floor, the two cards he needed among them.

He picked them up, holding them in his hand as he changed his attention to Marcellos.

"You've become even better. This Entertainment Dueling really suits you," Brandon noticed. "Master should be proud."

"I've become even better but I'm not good enough to beat you or Justin yet..." Marcellos acknowledged. "I have to continue to follow your path and keep up with you guys."

"You don't need to keep up with us. You need to keep up with yourself," Brandon spoke. "And follow your path instead of ours. You are you, Justin is Justin, and I am me. We are all different and we do things differently."

Marcellos frowned. That actually was right. They really were different. Justin was the one frustrated that he wasn't the best and that he wasn't Master's favorite. Brandon was Master's favorite but didn't seem to care too much about his position, and he wanted to keep up with them but was skilled in Entertainment Dueling while he wanted to show Master he was good enough to be a Master Rank duelist.

"The path you're taking right now is the right one for you," Brandon admitted. "Walk further down that road, and I'll be willing to take you on again. Because I like it when people give me a hard time and you've done just that."

Marcellos actually disliked Brandon. The arrogance— No. The overconfidence he showed. His way of talking, the things he did. Who he was. Marcellos disliked it all.

But he disliked Justin, too. The shouting, the arrogance. And just like Brandon, just who he was in general.

And maybe secretly because Brandon and Justin were all that what Marcellos had always wanted to be.

The blond was one of the two duel child prodigies, known as the Dragonic Emperor. He was Master's favorite student in whole All-Star Trinity.

Justin was the second strongest duelist in All-Star Trinity, is spoiled as hell because of his rich parents but he could easily improve himself without pressure overtaking him, and he was also very respected by almost whole of All-Star Trinity.

But he was different. He was just the third Master Rank duelist, the weakest out of all three. Master favored Brandon and Justin over him. Probably even Hyper Rank duelist Kai. And he felt so much pressure to keep up. He definitely knew the meaning of pressure.

But that pressure changed him. The Marcellos he was now was not the one he once was. It changed him into a being that could hold grudges and know feelings like hate.

Brandon was still staring at him, his hand still extended. "Are you going to take it or are you going to help yourself up through those circus moves of yours?"

He smiled. He took his hand, allowing the blond to help him up. And that boy actually was right. He needed to follow his own path, not Jason's or Brandon's.

Therefore, he made the best decision possible.

"I will quite being a Master Rank duelist."

Brandon frowned at his declaration, wondering what went through the boy's head. "Just because you lost to me doesn't mean that you should quit with it."

"It's not because of that. The whole pressure that comes with it... It's just nothing for me," Marcellos explained. "In fact, I think I will just leave All-Star Trinity for Your Show."

Was Marcellos that attached to Your Show already? Brandon couldn't think about leaving All-Star Trinity for Your Move. Sure, the people in Your Move were nice, but it was so different from what he was used to. And besides that, he had sworn his loyalty to Master. Leaving All-Star Trinity would feel like betraying Master. He was definitely unable to do that.

"Hey, it's your path. You don't have to be accountable to me," the blond answered, turning to the door to leave. "But remember that I will come back to duel you again."

Marcellos nodded, he'd like that. "Of course. Then I will show you real Entertainment Dueling."

Entertainment Dueling was nothing for him. It was a more advanced form of Action Dueling to him and he didn't like the latter.

But it sure was impressive and energetic to see Marcellos do that. And it actually made it difficult to beat him.

Brandon nodded, a smirk following. "Please do."

The blond left to join the rest of the group, interested to see how it went.

And interested in what James would think of his new deck.

* * *

This was bad, this was bad, this was bad.

Kate, Chris, and Emily were standing in front of the group, and that could only mean one thing: scoldings, and shouting from Emily.

"I'm disappointed in you guys," Kate stated. "Accepting a challenge and then going unprepared. I hope you will do better next time."

Chris nodded. She took the words out of his mouth.

The two then left to Kate's office to, once again, take care of administrative stuff.

"Chloe, you slipped," Emily remembered. "You slipped! That's not good enough! If you would come here more often and stay here longer, than it wouldn't have happened!"

Chloe looked down at the ground. Maybe Emily was right, but she didn't know why she couldn't stay that long.

The boys shot each other a quick glance. Did Emily just shout at one of the girls in her group, who's supposed to be one of her friends?

She then looked at Michelle, glaring. "And I'm not even going to start about you."

Not even going to start about her? What in the world did Emily mean with that? Michelle was starting to get fed up with Emily.

And Brandon was the last victim.

"And you, mister," she spoke. "What went through your head? Having the decisive vote in going there, we're going there because of you, and then you just sneak off somewhere!"

"I know but I had business to do," he responded.

"Business? So you own business is more important than S-Rank?" Emily asked.

"Of course not," he replied. "I'm sorry. I should have battled alongside you guys instead of thinking about myself."

Michelle felt for the blond boy. Sure, he sneaked off on his own which was unheard of, but he didn't deserve all the shouting from Emily.

But with or without him, they would have still lost. Besides that, Chloe was the one who slipped and she was the one who fell on the ground. And Emily didn't even continue when that happened. She just stopped and stared.

If there was someone more to blame than the blond boy, it was Emily.

"Don't be so mean to him! You were terrible too!" she blurted.

Emily, Brandon and the rest looked at her, the first two frowning.

"What did you just say?"

Emily's tone was hostile, a glare present to go with it. But this time, Michelle wouldn't back down.

"When I fell and Chloe slipped, you could have just carried on, instead, you just stared at us," Michelle remembered. "You are more to blame than Brandon."

Then there was a lot of arguing, blaming, and shouting. Upon hearing those shouts, Kate and Chris came out to see what it was all about.

Brandon, who was leaning against a wall with his eyes closed and arms crossed noticed them coming in, pointing towards the cause for the shouting.

Kate sighed. Emily and Michelle. Again.

The shouting abruptly stopped as they noticed Kate and Chris coming, both taking a step away from the other.

"What is this all about?" Kate demanded to know. "Two of my best duelists are fighting. Again!"

The two girls glared at each other, not planning to apologize this time.

"I want to be the leader of S-Rank."

Everyone was shocked at Michelle declaration. Stephanie frowned, James had a stupid grin on his face, Riley had her eyes widened, Emily frowned before glaring, and even Brandon couldn't help but feel shocked a little bit.

But to him, this was one hell of an amazing soap. They should turn this into one so that his mom could watch it instead of those stupid ones that didn't make any sense.

Kate and Chris shot each other a look, a smile forming on Chris' face.

"Actually, we have been discussing about that. Kate wanted Emily, and I wanted you," Chris spoke. "So maybe now is a good chance to settle this."

Kate nodded, and maybe then all the fighting could be over. "Emily, you go and stand right from me. Michelle, you go and stand left from me."

The two girls did as told, not really sure on what was about to happen.

"The rest of you. Vote," she ordered. "The one who gets the most support is the new leader."

Brandon frowned a bit. Was this how things went outside All-Star Trinity? Just voting for everything?

James was the first one to walk to Michelle's side, Lamar and Daniel soon followed. Stephanie was the first to walk to Emily's side.

Paris, Eldon, Chloe, Riley and Brandon were the last ones left to vote.

Paris was Emily's friend, but would having Emily as leader improve them much as duelists? Not very much. And she knew what happened with duelists who don't improve. They would just get demoted to A-Rank. She didn't want that.

She chose Michelle. Just for her own safety.

Emily and Stephanie looked shock. Their best friend who was supposed to support them by choosing for them, just went to the other side.

1 down, 4 to go.

Eldon looked back and forth. Emily, his crush and the one who rejected him rudely time after time,and the girl who was on the loosing side, or Michelle, the girl that was always nice to him and who had the support of his friends.

That was an easy choice, despite his feelings. One for Michelle again.

Emily's eyes found the floor. She was losing, and heavily, too. Had she really been that bad of a leader?

Chloe took a step forward, urging to walk to Emily's side. But the way Emily acted towards her, it made her feel unimportant. Michelle was way nicer, and would care too much about it if she left earlier.

She chose Michelle, too.

Emily looked at Riley. She was her sister, surely she would choose her side.

But Riley had doubts. She shouldn't choose Emily just because they were sisters. Michelle was the better choice for S-Rank. Michelle would bring them together, and only then they would be able to all improve.

She chose Michelle's side with a face of guilt. Emily was shocked. Her very own sister turned her back on her. It was getting even worse.

Everyone looked at Brandon, who hadn't even lifted a finger the whole time. They were eagerly waiting for him to chose as the last person who needed to do so.

He noticed everyone staring, prompting him to raise an eyebrow. "What?"

"You still have to choose," Kate pointed out.

"I won't," he declared. "My vote won't matter anyway. Michelle has won with a big lead."

Right. 1 for Emily, 6 for Michelle, and one who refused to chose.

"That's settled then," began Chris.

"Michelle is your new leader," Kate finished.

The boys rejoiced about it, while the girls congratulated her.

And Emily rushed out of the room, heading off to no one knows where.

* * *

She sadly gazed in front of her, knees pulled up.

The people she had known for quite some time had just, hence for 2, even though she knew one of time for not that long, turned their backs on her as leader.

She didn't care that she lost to Michelle. It was just that... she felt betrayed. They could have just told her that they didn't like the way she did things. She could have changed the flaws she had as leader.

Instead, they just decided to be total jerks. But Riley's choice hurt her most. Her very own sister never spoke to her about it all, she always said that she was doing a good job at it.

Then why would she choose Michelle?

She heard the door open. Great, someone who was about to say that he/she felt sorry for her.

She glanced to the side, noticing a blond boy walking in. He stood completely still, noticing Emily's sadness.

"What are you doing here?" she asked, not really in the mood to talk to anyone.

He sat down on the small sofa she was on, hiding his hands in his pockets. "Figured you could need a friend."

"Honestly," she started, "I **don't**."

He simply shrugged, not going away. And because she knew that he wasn't planning on leaving, she just allowed him to stay.

A silence fell. She knew Brandon wasn't much of a talker, but if he didn't come to talk, then why even was he here?

The blond boy carefully chose his words, finally speaking up.

"I know how you feel."

"No, you don't," was her immediate response.

"Honestly, I do," he spoke. "I was a leader at my previous Duel School, too. It was hard for me to start from the bottom and to take orders from others. I came here and was a nobody. You are afraid you will become the same."

"No," she went. "I'm **fine**. And I'm **not** afraid of becoming a nobody."

"I know that you're not fine," Brandon revealed. "You're emphasizing your words."

How could he knew that she did that when she lied? He didn't know her for that long.

"Riley, Eldon and Stephanie told me before I came here," he clarified.

Could this boy read her mind or something?

A silence fell again. Emily actually found it to be a soothing silence. In these not even 5 minutes she had learned that Brandon Kanbara knew exactly what to say and when not to speak. Maybe it helped because he understood her pain.

"I actually feel betrayed," she revealed. She didn't know why she told him, but it seemed like a good idea. "I've known these guys for so long... And then they pulled a trick like this... Even my own sister..."

Betrayal. That word still stung deep in his own soul. He knew that feeling as well. And it wasn't a good one.

"You just don't need to show them your pain. Use the pain you feel now and turn it into your strength," he spoke. "It will help you. I'm sure of it. But please, just cooperate, even if you don't want, too. The more you show Kate and Chris you're willing to do everything for S-Rank, the more they will consider making you the leader of S-Rank again."

"But, I was the leader... that meant everything to me..."

"I noticed that. But look at it from what side," he proposed. "You don't have all the pressure of being a leader anymore, you don't have to solve any problems anymore, and people actually get to see the real you. It could be a fresh start, you know."

Was this how he got over the fact that he wasn't a leader anymore?

The Brandon Kanbara that was sitting next to her sure was different from the one he was when he was with the S-Ranks.

He then stood up, patting her head out of sympathy. "I'm off now. I still have some stuff to do."

Emily actually felt disappointed that he needed to leave. She honestly thought she wasn't in the mood to speak to anyone. She guessed she was wrong.

"If you ever want to talk, you know how to find me," he said as he headed for the door.

"Thank you," she managed to say before he left. "And sorry for shouting at you.

In response, he only smirked.

"Don't bother thanking me," he replied. "It's no problem. Honestly, people shout at me all the time. Now stop moping around. Smiling suits your face better. See you later, Ems."

And then he was gone.

'Ems'. Now that she wasn't the leader anymore, he didn't call her 'Cap'. Oh well.

His words actually made sense. The more she showed that she was willing to cooperate because it was good for S-Rank, the more people would see that she wanted the best for S-Rank. Just like a leader would.

And it would indeed take away all the stress it always gave her.

She stood up from the bench, a confident look settling in her eyes.

All-Star Trinity would be the first ones to see the real Emily Beaton.

* * *

_Believe x Believe biri-biri-biri Buddies!_

The boy peacefully walked through the park as the music blasted through his headphones.

It was a beautiful day to be outside and he was able to discover the city some more.

Jason would be mad if he found out about this, but the teen didn't care about that. It was a nice day to be outside, so he just went for it. Jason's scolding was something for later.

Even if something would happen, the people would probably mistake him for Brandon Kanbara, anyway.

He walked past a small bench where 4 boys were on, laughing and talking about something.

"There he is!" one of them said. "Over here, Brandon!"

One of them called him over. The teen raised an eyebrow, they were probably friends of Brandon. Were they really unable to distinguish them?

The teen simply shook his head to let them know that he wouldn't join them and he simply continued his stroll through the park.

The boys all gave him a weird look.

Then James spoke up.

"I didn't knew Brandon liked cosplay."

* * *

S-Rank was all complete except for the boys and Emily. Even Brandon looked around, wondering if he was too early.

But he also wondered if Emily would even show up. Sure, he had talked to her yesterday, but talks never were an assurance for something.

Walking through the door was Emily, throwing her bag down with the others. She walked past everyone, ignoring the people that wanted to speak to her.

"So you decided to show up," Brandon noticed when she stood next to him.

"Of course," she replied. "If I won't come to S-Rank, then who will?"

Brandon smirked. That was the Emily he knew.

"Smile."

"Eh?"

"Just do it," he demanded. "You owe me one for helping you out."

She didn't intend to smile, but the playful tone in his voice made it go automatically.

"See?" he asked, while he knew that Emily couldn't see it. "Smiling suits you way better."

She was about to say something when the boys suddenly rushed in, throwing their bags with the others. "Sorry we're late!"

James then walked up towards Brandon, crossing his arms in a playful manner. "Why didn't you join us in the park?"

"I told you that I was unable to come," Brandon answered.

"Then why were you in the park?" James asked, eyebrows raised.

"And in cosplay too," Lamar added.

"Cosplay?" Brandon asked. "Are you guys crazy or something? I wasn't even near the park."

"You were," Daniel butted in. "You wore a whig with white, unkempt hair, and you had a strange red stripe underneath each even wore these strange earrings. Oh, and you also wore something that looked like those outfits priests of the gods used to wear."

Brandon blinked a couple of times, frowning after he was done blinking. "What...?"

Wait. White, unkempt hair, red stripe underneath each eye, earrings, strange outfit that nobody would wear.

He brought the palm of his hand to his forehead, inwardly muttering to himself that All-Star Trinity should have kept a better eye on the guy.

His carefreeness would get them into troubles at one point, and it seems that point was now.

Darn that Xandon.

* * *

**Sorry that I'm a day late, but the login option was down, so I couldn't update yesterday. Hope you guys don't mind that.**

**I hope you all enjoyed the chapter and I wish all of you a nice day.**

**See ya!**


	11. Chapter 11

**I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh! Arc-V. I only own my OCs.**

* * *

The first standoff! All-Star Trinity V.S. Your Move! Warrior of the Deep Sea, Kai Pearson V.S Dragonic Emperor, Brandon Kanbara!

* * *

"Where's that friend of yours?"

"Well, aren't we moody today."

Jason smirked at the blond, who scowled.

"Not funny," he said. "But where is he?"

"Who?"

"Xandon."

Jason shook his head. "I don't know. He's probably living in his own carefree world right now."

"Well, he invaded mine," Brandon said. "Because of him, the people at Your Move think I'm into cosplaying."

"Wait. Are you saying that he went out in the public and that people saw him?" asked Jason.

"That's exactly what I'm saying."

"That idiot!" Jason spat. "I told him not to go out in public. Someone of Fusion could have seen him!"

"I know, I know. Don't worry, I'll talk to him about it," Brandon said. "If I can find him..."

* * *

"Emily."

Ignored.

"Emily."

Ignored. Again.

"Emily!"

Ignored even more.

"Come on, Emily! You can't keep ignoring me!"

Since the whole incident, Emily had decided to ignore practically anyone who turned her back against her. Not because they did it, but because she had known most of them for a long time. She had honestly expected them to tell her when she wasn't doing a good job. Never, ever had she expected them to go behind her back.

But Riley was the one that had hurt her the most. For a sister to do that to a sister. Emily couldn't believe something like that.

Despite being sisters by blood, she didn't knew if she could still see Riley as a sister. And until the time she figured out wether to do that or not, she decided to just not see her like that. Or well, ignore her.

"Fine." Riley heaved a sigh of defeat before leaving Emily's room, carefully closing the door behind her.

Emily breathed out a large puff of air. That went easier then expected. Not flawless, but it went quite okay.

"I should ask Brandon to learn me how he does it."

* * *

"There you are."

Xandon looked up from his position, a blond boy hovering over him.

"You've been out in the open again, haven't you, Xandon?"

The boy blinked a couple of times, remembering when the weather was very nice.

"I have," he answered. "Why?"

"Because people have mistaken you for me," Brandon answered. "Because of that, people think that I like cosplaying."

"But then what is the problem?"

Brandon brought the palm of his hand to his forehead. This guy was probably even more carefree than James and Kai. And he was already struggling with those 2 people on occasions.

"Nothing. At least not yet," he quickly added. "You just have to be a little bit more careful. If they find you, and when they discover you guys are in All-Star Trinity, things won't work out like they are supposed to."

"I'm sorry," Xandon said, giving the blond an apologetic nod. "This whole situation is new for me."

"You think it isn't for me?" Brandon asked, frowning. "My dimensional counterpart is walking around freely without any worries. And I get the blame for all the troubles he causes!"

"But I don't cause any problems," Xandon protested.

"Not yet..." Brandon muttered under his breath. "Anyway, next time you want to go out, take Jason or someone else with you. Your carefreeness will get you in danger one day."

"Will do, Emperor."

"Please," Brandon began, "call me Brandon."

* * *

They were all waiting with no knowledge of what to expect.

All-Star Trinity could arrive any minute, and then they needed to duel against their students. They knew that All-Star Trinity was one of the top Duel Schools is Asia together with LDS and that many pro's came from there, but never had they seen of the duelists from there in action.

"You said that one of your acquaintances attends that Duel School, right?" Michelle asked Brandon, who nodded. "What rank does he have?"

"He's a Hyper Rank duelist. But the people in there say that he's good enough for Master Rank," he said. Alright, maybe he lied about that. But hey, he thought Kai belonged there, and he was a Master Rank duelist himself. That surely counted.

"But then why is he in Hyper Rank?" Eldon asked.

"Dunno. Knowing him it'll probably be his motivation," Brandon spoke. "But it might also be that the current Master Rank duelists are better than him."

"So he's good as a Master Rank duelist, but isn't one because the 3 current Master Rank duelists are stronger?" Riley asked. "What if all three the Master Rank duelists come and that Hyper Rank duelist? What if they bring them, and more of those Hyper Rank duelists? We'll be pulverized!"

"Calm down, it surely won't be that worse," James tried to reassure her. "Besides, I'm back in action again. There's no way we can lose now!"

Brandon had given him his deck yesterday, but he was bursting with excitement. He wanted to see how good it was, and what cards were in it.

Brandon had told him not to look through it. The best way to form a bond with a deck was to get to learn the cards in a duel, or so he said. So James decided that he would do that, and it could either become a success or a total failure.

A large vehicle then stopped in front of the Duel School. It gave off an intimidating and malicious vibe, while many began to gulp. The big door opened, all the people that were in it stepping out of the vehicle.

Eldon quickly stopped counting the amount of people that stepped out. They were with way too many.

"Yo, Kanbara!"

Brandon looked at a black-haired boy, who grinned at him stupidly.

"If it isn't Pearson," he spoke. "Didn't know you would be coming."

"Of course I would!" he answered. "I'm here to duel you!"

Kai was the only person of All-Star Trinity who had gotten orders to act as if he knew Brandon as a friend (which he really was), while the others were given strict orders to act like a stranger.

"What's this rotten place?"

Everyone frowned, looking towards the vehicle. Brandon recognized the voice.

The brunet then walked out of the vehicle, face full of disgust.

Justin.

A teacher was the last one to step out of the vehicle, taking a bow out of politeness. "Greetings Your Show. We are All-Star Trinity Duel School."

"Welcome!" Chris greeted. "We know that this Duel School is below your standard, but we still hope you can make yourselves at home."

"And we hope that you don't mind that we brought all of our S-Rank duelists with us," Kate added.

"We don't mind," the teacher answered. "However, 2 of our 3 Master Rank couldn't make it here today. We hope you don't mind that."

"Oh, we don't," Kate answered.

Everyone was cheering inwardly. 2 of their 3 Master Rank duelists absent would give them way more chance.

"Yeah, yeah. Don't worry, they were not worth it anyway," Justin claimed. "I'm the best of them, and I'm here, so everything's fine. Now let's get this all started. The earlier I'm done, the earlier I can leave."

Brandon had to urge to growl but luckily he managed to hold it back. He hoped that whoever would duel him, would put him in his place. Even if the chance of that wasn't so high.

"Indeed. Let's get this started," the teacher repeated, Kate and Chris nodding at the request.

Everyone followed Kate and Chris, while Brandon's eyes widened when a cloaked boy passed him by. Did Master really allow the, according to Jason, strongest member of the Resistance to come along? And one that was his dimensional counterpart, too! This could never end well.

"Did they really bring Xandon along?!"

* * *

The students of the two Duel Schools stood right across each other, one full of confidence, while the students of the other glancer around nervously.

"Seeing that we are with way more students than you are, how about having 4 or 5 duelists duel against each other?" the teacher proposed.

Kate and Chris shot each other a quick look, Chris nodding. "That's fine with us."

"Good." The teacher turned towards his students, calling some of them forward. "Justin. I want to have you in there."

"Naturally."

"Yo, teach," Kai went. "I'm taking the blond one on!"

Brandon, knowing that he was 'the blond one', smirked. "Fine with me."

"No one asked your input, gogglehead," Justin growled. "So who is the lucky guy that gets to duel me?"

"Here."

Emily stepped forward, confidence burning in her eyes.

"But she's nowhere near a guy. Or lucky," Brandon commented.

Upon Justin's facial expression, the boys, except for Brandon, began to snicker. After they were done, Justin was the one who started to snicker.

"You're dueling me!?" he said in between the snickering. "But you're a girl!"

"What's wrong?" Brandon asked. "Scared that the girl will kick your butt?"

"Watch it, blondie!" Justin warned. He had gotten orders to act like a stranger towards the blond, and he would do that. A rude stranger, at that. He already hated Brandon with every fiber of his being, so he didn't have to put any effort in it.

"Oh wow. I'm so scared right now," Brandon taunted. "Be glad Kai wanted to take me on, otherwise I would be the one kicking your butt."

Kai resisted the urge to snicker. He, and the rest of All-Star Trinity, knew the history between the two. The fact that Justin's face became red out of anger made things even funnier.

"Fine then! I will take on the girl," Justin said. "But don't come crying on my shoulder when you lose."

"On your shoulder?" Brandon asked. "Things are getting good now!"

Your Move snickered. Justin's face became even redder. Did Brandon have a secret fetish for making a fool out of him?

"Is someone having an interest in Emily?" the blond tauntingly asked. "Because why else would you want her to cry on your shoulder?"

"I don't," Justin claimed. "It's only natural that girls want that."

"Your mother doesn't count..." Brandon deadpanned. "Neither does your sister..."

Your Move began to snicker again. Justin turned his back towards them. "Snicker all you want. You won't snicker after I have demolished you."

"Anyway," the teacher began, hoping to prevent a fight, turning towards a cloaked boy. "Xandon. I really want to use you, too."

"Xandon?" Eldon repeated.

"Your names rhyme!" James said to Brandon. "Family of yours? A long lost brother maybe?"

"Very funny," Brandon deadpanned. "It's just coincidence."

The cloaked boy nodded in approval, while Brandon's eyes narrowed. If Xandon really was the strongest member of Resistance, then it would take quite some skill to take him out.

"Now, who wants to take on Xandon?" Kate asked.

"Riley volunteers!" James replied with a grin.

Riley looked to the right, then to the left, hoping there might be another Riley present in the room. She then noticed that she was the only one and started to panic. "What? No!"

"Alright! Riley's dueling Xandon, then!"

"Thanks, James..." she deadpanned. "Now I have to duel!"

"No problem." James then noticed that All-Star Trinity didn't bring any duelist forward to duel, but he still wanted to duel. So he just let Kate and Chris know. "I want to duel, too."

"Oh, that's fine," the All-Star Trinity teacher said. "Now, let's see. Hm. You."

"Yes?" the boy went.

"Are you fine with dueling this boy?"

He looked around, he actually wanted to turn that offer down. He didn't need to duel any people of this Duel School.

But he then saw Brandon nod at him. He couldn't ignore orders from the Emperor.

"Sure."

"That's settled, then!" the teacher said, clasping his hands together. "You 4 are going to duel."

"And we are going to take it away!" Kai said. "Right, Kanbara?"

"If that's what you desire," he said with a smirk. "Then we'll do just that!"

* * *

The two boys stood across each other, Kai grinning, Brandon smirking.

"Ready?" Chris asked, just to be sure.

"More ready than ever!" Kai confirmed while Brandon only nodded.

They both activated their Duel Disks, while Kai began to speak. "Duelists locked in battle!"

"Kicking the earth and dancing in the air alongside their monsters."

"They storm through this field!"

"Behold. This is the newest and greatest evolution of dueling."

"Action..."

""DUEL!""

The Action Field was activated, turning the duel field in some sort of subtropical swimming pool. In the pool were multiple platforms to stand on, starting from being on the water to being attached to a rock to going completely up in the air.

"A water field!" Kai exclaimed. "This is perfect! My turn!"

Kai played one card, discarding the rest of them to his graveyard. "I activate Hand Obliteration! This magic card forces us both to discard our entire hand and draw new cards equal to the amount of discarded ones!"

Brandon discarded his whole hand too, the both of them drawing new cards.

"Then the effect of Abyssgunde and Abysshilde activates!" Kai said. "When Abysshilde is sent to the graveyard, I can special special summon a Mermail monster from my hand! I special summon Mermail - Oceabyss!"

Mermail - Oceabyss, Level 3, 1100/1900

"And Abyssgunde's effect allows me to special summon one Mermail monster from my graveyard when she's discarded," Kai explained. "So I'm special summoning Abysshilde back to the field!"

Mermail - Abysshilde, Level 3, 1300/400

"Then I normal summon Mermail - Abysslinde!"

Mermail - Abysslinde, Level 3, 1500/1200

**"I construct the Overlay Network with the Level 3 Oceabyss, Abysshilde and Abysslinde!" **Kai ordered. **"Xyz summon! Appear, Tri-Edge Levia!"**

Out of the Overlay Network, an armored fish appeared, pointing its spear at Brandon.

Tri-Edge Levia, Level 3, 1800/1500, Overlay Units: 3

"I set one card and end my turn!"

"My turn! Draw!" Brandon slapped a monster card on the monster card zone, a black dragon with big claws appearing on the field. "Because you control a monster, and I don't, I can special summon Vice Dragon with its attack and defense halved."

Vice Dragon, Level 5, 1000/1200

"Then I banish one Light dragon-type monster in my graveyard to special summon Somber-Black Dragon Collapserpent from my hand!" Brandon announced, the dragon appearing on the field.

Somber-Black Dragon Collapserpent, Level 4, 1800/1700

"Then I release Vice Dragon and Collapserpent!" Brandon declared, the two monsters disappearing as water out of the pool rose up and began to form something. "And I advance summon Dragon Ruler of Waterfalls - Tidal!"

Dragon Ruler of Waterfalls - Tidal, Level 7, 2700/2100

"And because he isn't special summoned, he won't return to my hand during your end phase," Brandon explained.

Kai gulped. Tidal meant serious business.

"Now, Tidal. Attack Tri-Edge Levia," Brandon ordered. "Tsunami Maelstrom!"

The dragon roared as a tsunami washed over Kai's field, flooding over Tri-Edge Levia. After that, the maelstrom drew Tri-Edge Levia in, making it disappear.

Kai: 4000 → 3100

"I set one card and end my turn."

**Kai: 3100, Cards x2**

**Brandon: 4000, Cards x2**

"My turn! Draw!"

Kai then sped off to find an Action Card, hoping to protect himself from the barrage of attacks from Brandon that would be coming next turn.

After some minutes of searching, Kai grinned. He had found the one that he needed. Jumping up and extending his arm to reach out to it, he went for it.

But then he looked down, finding the water bubbling underneath him. Then, suddenly, something jumped out of the water, snatching away the Action Card.

Kai landed on a platform in the air, looking down on Brandon's platform. A smug smirk painted his features as he took the Action Card out of Tidal's mouth.

Kai grinned at what he saw, not only did he bother to order Tidal to go and search for Action Cards, but he also accepted them, too. "I thought you didn't use Action Cards."

"I don't," answered the blond. "But as long as I have this card in my hand, you won't be able to use it."

He then examined the card further, adding it to his hand. "And it seems that was a good choice. This is pretty much the best Action Card available on this field."

"Why am I getting the feeling it's not smart to use Action Cards against you?" Kai asked.

"Because I will prevent you from getting them," Brandon answered. "In other words, you're just wasting your time."

"Very well, then. Trap, activate!" Kai went, his trap flipping open. "Abyssqual allows me to special summon 3 Mermails from my graveyard with their effects negated in defense position but they are destroyed during my end phase! Return, Mermail - Megaloabyss, Mermail - Leedabyss, Mermail - Abysslinde!"

Mermail - Megaloabyss, Level 7, 2400/1900

Mermail - Leedabyss, Level 7, 2700/1000

**"I construct the Overlay Network with the Level 7 Megaloabyss and Leedabyss!" **The two monsters disappeared into the Overlay Network. **"Xyz summon! King of the deep sea, Mermail - Gaioabyss!"**

A monster with the upper body of what seemed to resemble Poseidon, and the lower body of a sea dragon appeared out of the water, keeping his trident ready.

Mermail - Gaioabyss, Rank 7, 2800/1600, Overlay Units: 2

"So the Action Card was just a backup plan," Brandon connected. "Well played, Pearson."

"See it more as extra reinforcements," Kai said. "But thank you. You're not too shabby yourself, Kanbara."

Kai grinned, Brandon smirked. But Kai for another reason than Brandon.

"Now, as long as Gaioabyss is on the field while he has Overlay Units, level 5 or higher monsters can't attack," Kai explained. "So your Dragon Rulers will do nothing against me!"

Brandon said nothing, instead, he glanced to Tidal. He knew that the dragon would remain on his field for just a couple of seconds.

"Then I activate Abysscale - Mizuchi, giving Gaioabyss 800 extra attack!" Kai explained, an armor forming on Gaioabyss' body.

Mermail - Gaioabyss: 2800 → 3600

"Now, Gaioabyss! Attack Tidal!" Kai ordered.

Gaioabyss swam towards Tidal at high speed, thrusting his trident through the dragon's chest.

Brandon: 4000 → 3100

"I set one card and end my turn!"

"My turn! Draw!"

Brandon smirked, playing the magic card he had just drawn. "I activate Upstart Goblin!"

"Mizuchi's effect activates! When you activate a magic card, the armor negates it and destroys it, while I sent Mizuchi to the grave!"

The armor perished away, negating the Upstart Goblin but Brandon used another magic card. "I activate Pot of Greed! So now, I draw 2 new cards."

And he still had something else up his sleeve.

He picked two cards out of his hand, showing them to Kai, who's eyes widened.

**"With the scale 1 Star Stream Dragon and the scale 11 Time Stream Dragon, I'm setting the Pendulum Scale!" **he declared, a blue, legless dragon and a green, on 4 legs standing dragon with a golden arc on its back rose up into the pillars of light.

Star Stream Dragon: Scale 1

Time Stream Dragon: Scale 1

"Uh-oh..." was what Kai said, seeing the two dragons.

**"Grand power of my proud soul, unleash yourself so that the light within can draw the outlines of my heart! Pendulum summon! Arise, my fierce dragons!"** Brandon recited, a hole opening up in between the two pillars, two beams descending down on the platform.

Kai watched it in full awe, he had never seen Pendulum summoning before, and seeing it from this close made it even more impressive.

"Golem Dragon!"

Golem Dragon, Level 4, 200/2000

**"Arise with your strength directly given to you from the Pendulum, rare dragon with powers unknown to us all! Threat with dual colored eyes, descend now! The mysterious part of my soul, Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon!"**

The red dragon roared as its eyes began to glow, and Brandon's trap opened. "Then I activate Call of the Living Dead, summoning back Alexandridragon from my graveyard!"

Alexandridragon, Level 4, 2000/0

**"I construct the Overlay Network with the level 4 Alexandridragon and Golem Dragon!" **he declared, the two dragons disappearing into the Overlay Network. **"****Created from pitch-black darkness, armed with mighty treacherous fangs. To rebel against those foolish enough to oppose you! Descend now, rebellious part of my soul! Xyz summon! Rank 4! Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon!"**

Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon, Rank 4, 2500/2000, Overlay Units: 2

"Now I activate Dark Rebellion's effect! By detaching one Overlay Unit, the attack of one of your monsters is halved, while Dark Rebellion's attack will increase by the lost amount!" Brandon explained. "Treason Discharge!"

Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon: Overlay Units: 2 → 1

Purple sparks tied Gaioabyss together as he struggled to break free, Dark Rebellion roaring.

Mermail - Gaioabyss: 2800 → 1400

Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon: 2500 → 3900

"Now, Dark Rebellion! Attack Gaioabyss!" Brandon ordered. "Rebellious Lightning Disobey!"

Thunder sparks began to surge through Dark Rebellion's wings, the horn on its chin getting enveloped in a bright light. In then flew of towards Gaioabyss, nailing it in the chest with the horn.

Kai: 3100 → 2000

"Odd-Eyes, direct attack!" Brandon ordered. "Spiral Strike Burst!"

"Trap, activate! Bubble Bringer!" Kai responded, his trap flipping open. "Bubble Bringer negates your direct attack!"

"I set one card and end my turn!"

**Kai: 2000, Cards x1**

**Brandon: 3100, Cards x1**

"My turn! Draw!" Kai played a magic card, immediately drawing 2 other cards. "I activate Pot of Greed! Now I can draw 2 new cards!"

"I activate Resurrection of the dead, bringing back Bearded Anglerfish!"

Bearded Anglerfish, Level 4, 1500/1600

"When Bearded Anglerfish is used to advance summon a Water type monster, it counts as 2 releases," Kai suddenly explained. "So I release the for 2 counting releases Bearded Anglerfish!"

Water rose up in the air, becoming insanely solid. Brandon soon realized that it wasn't water anymore but ice.

"Advance summon! Blue-Ice White Nights Dragon!"

The icy dragon roared at Brandon, who smirked at it in return. "Of course you would use that monster against me."

Blue-Ice White Nights Dragon, Level 8, 3000/2500

Kai only grinned, but he immediately went towards his battle phase. "Blue-Ice White Nights Dragon! Attack Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon!"

The ice dragon unleashed a powerful blast at Dark Rebellion, who got saved by Brandon's trap. "Trap, activate! Attack Invulnerability prevents Dark Rebellion from being destroyed by battle this turn!"

Brandon: 3100 → 2600

"Then I'm going to finish with this," Kai began, activating a magic card. "With the Dark Door, only one monster can attack each battle phase. So you can't throw a whole barrage at me anymore! Turn end!"

"My turn! Draw!"

Brandon looked at White Nights Dragon, then back at his own dragons. Dark Rebellion's Treason Discharge would give it enough attack to beat Kai right now, but Kai, knowing that he would lose then, would search for an Action Card, which could get his attack stopped. And Odd-Eyes would be unable to attack then because of Dark Door.

He had to use something that made it so that Kai wouldn't search for Action Cards but that would still made him lose.

"I activate Angel's Charity, and because of that I get to draw 3 cards as long as I discard 2 afterwards," the blond explained, doing just that.

Brandon then proceeded to see what card he had drawn, and he smirked at it. It was exactly what he needed.

"I activate the magic card, Fiber Change!" Brandon declared, the magic card materializing onto his field. "I can target and equip this card to one monster on my field, changing the type it has to a type I desire. The monster I will equip it to will be Dark Rebellion, the type I want is Beast. Cardinal Drive!"

The card shot a beam at Dark Rebellion, the body structure of the black dragon becoming way more beast-like.

**"Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon, Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon. Contact Fusion!" **The two dragons disappeared into a swirling whirlpool. **"Rebellious part of my soul. Become one with the mysterious part of my soul to awaken the cardinal instincts hidden deep inside! Ferocious dragon with luminous feral eyes, roar! Fusion summon! Unleash the beast within! Level 8! Beast-Eyes Pendulum Dragon!"**

Beast-Eyes Pendulum Dragon, Level 8, 3000/2000

Everyone looked at the beast-like Odd-Eyes, clearly amazed.

"Contact Fusion..." Chloe muttered.

"He summoned a Fusion monster," Eldon noted.

"And without Fusion, too," Daniel added.

"Contact Fusion," Paris repeated.

"Isn't that the kind of Fusion you can use, too, Chloe?" Stephanie asked.

Chloe nodded. "And I'm clearly not the only one."

"And he used a Pendulum monster and a Xyz monster to summon it..." Michelle mumbled.

Brandon used the last card in his hand, a magic card. "Dragon Treasure increases the attack and defense of the equipped monster with 300!"

Beast-Eyes Pendulum Dragon: 3000 → 3300

"Battle phase! It's time to buck wild, Beast-Eyes! Beast-Eyes Pendulum Dragon, attack Blue-Ice White Nights Dragon!" Brandon ordered as Beast-Eyes roared. "Hell Dive Burst!"

Beast-Eyes jumped up, firing a fire blast towards White Nights Dragon that took the form of its own head, the heat coming from the blast being enough to make the dragon melt away to its destruction.

Kai: 2000 → 1700

Beast-Eyes landed on the platform, turning towards Kai. "Then now, Beast-Eyes Pendulum Dragon's effect! When he destroys a monster in battle, he will deal damage to you equal to the original attack of the Beast-type monster used. Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon's has an attack of 2500."

Kai took a step back, realizing what that meant. "And my life is only 1700..."

"Take this, Kai!" Brandon shouted, as Beast-Eyes formed another fiery blast, the blast smashing into Kai. The black-haired boy lost his balance and fell of the platform straight into the water.

Kai: 1700 → 0

**Brandon: WIN**

"At least it's a nice cool down..." Kai muttered.

"You really need to stop giving me a hard time, Pearson," Brandon spoke, being on the platform Kai was at before he fell into the water. "But it was a nice duel, nonetheless."

"True! But it seems you're still a bit too much for me," Kai admitted. "Oh well! I enjoyed myself!"

Brandon helped him out of the water, and the two joined their respective Duel Schools, continuing on to the next duel.

All-Star Trinity 0 - Your Move 1

* * *

**Beast-Eyes Pendulum Dragon's effect is a mixed one:**

**1 "Pendulum Dragon" monster + 1 Beast-type monster**

**You can also special summon this card (From the extra deck) by releasing above cards you control (You do not use Fusion). If this card destroys a monster by battle: Inflict damage to your opponent equal to the original ATK of the Beast-Type monster used as a fusion material.**

**I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and I wish all of you a nice day.**

**See ya!**


	12. Chapter 12

**I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh! Arc-V. I only own my OCs.**

* * *

**At Guest: I meant Hand Obliteration. Has been changed and edited. Thanks for letting me know.**

**At Black Chains of Abyss: First of all, thank you for your critique. Really appreciate it. Second of all, I greatly understand your annoyance. I have been reading everything back, and I realize that it actually was more ego stroking than I thought it was. Therefore, from this chapter onwards, I will try to majorly turn it down. Because, let's be honest, his ego is 5 times his body right now.**

**At other guest: I had this one done early, and as compensation for chapter 10 being a day late, I will release this one a day earlier. So here you go!**

* * *

Second and third stand-off! All-Star Trinity versus Your Move!

* * *

Riley gulped as she stood across her opponent, all eyes were on her now.

Her opponent didn't seem too bothered about it, he was as calm as can be.

But everyone of Your Show thought that that Xandon guy looked ridiculous. He wore sunglasses, a knitted hat, and they managed to hide his facial markings with make-up. Brandon knew why they did that. Xandon looked way too much like him, if they saw how he really looked like, Your Show would like to know how that's possible, and that was a thing they couldn't know right now.

Maybe his deck would look like his, too?

"Ready?" Kate asked.

They both nodded, even though Riley's nod was a very nervous one.

"Do you want an Action Duel like Kai and Brandon, or a normal one?" Kate asked.

"I'm fine with either," Xandon spoke.

"A normal one, please," Riley requested, at which Kate nodded.

"Alright. Take it away!"

The two nodded, their Duel Disks activating.

""DUEL!""

"My turn! I set one monster and end my turn!"

Everyone looked shock at Riley's move. Setting at least a face-down would have been nice.

"My turn! Draw! I activate the effect of a monster in my hand," Xandon announced, slapping a card on his monster card zone. "When I control no monsters, and you control monsters, I can special summon this card from my hand. I special summon Hieroglyphic Dragon - Tfeni Dragon!"

Hieroglyphic Dragon - Tfeni Draogn, Level 6, 2100/1400

"Hieroglyphic Dragon..." James repeated. "Surely you know about those, Brandon?"

"I don't," he revealed. "I've never heard of these dragons. And believe me, I know a lot of dragons."

Xandon then slotted a card into his magic and trap card zone, the magic card materializing in front of him. "I activate Hieroglyphic Seal of Supremacy. I now get to special summon one Hieroglyphic monster from my hand. I special summon Hieroglyphic Dragon - Shiyu Dragon!"

Hieroglyphic Dragon - Shiyu Dragon, Level 6, 2200/1000

**"I construct the Overlay Network with the Level 6 Tfeni Dragon and Shiyu Dragon!"** Xandon ordered. **"Rule the ancient lands with the might given to you from the Gods! Call out your servants to support you against evil! Xyz summon! Rank 6! Hieroglyphic Dragon King - Atumus!"**

Hieroglyphic Dragon King - Atumus, Rank 6, 2400/2100, Overlay Units: 2

Everyone was temporarily blinded by the purple light of the dragon, but they could soon see it again. The dragon that was on Xandon's field really held a regal aura.

"Atumus, attack the set monster!" Xandon ordered, the dragon shooting a purple beam at the set monster.

"I activate the effect of Winda! When she's destroyed by battle and sent to the graveyard, I can special summon one Gusta Tuner from my deck!" she explained, one card emerging out of her deck. "I special summon Gusta Gulldo!"

Gusta Gulldo, Level 3, 500/500

"I set one card and end my turn."

**Riley: 4000, Cards x4**

**Xandon: 4000, Cards x2**

"My turn! Draw!" As she slapped a card on her duel disk, a green wolf with a yellow horn appeared next to Gulldo to oppose Atumus. "I summon Gusta Thunbolt!"

Gusta Thunbolt, Level 4, 1500/1200

**"I tune the level 4 Gusta Thunbolt with the level 3 Gusta Gulldo!" **she yelled. **"Let your wings destroy all hope that is hidden away on the field with the true power of the storm! Synchro Summon! Appear, Level 7, Diagusta Eguls!"**

Daigusta Eguls, Level 7, 2600/1800

"Daigusta Eguls! Attack Atumus!" Riley ordered, waisting no time to get rid of the dragon. "Aero Cyclone!"

The large eagle unleashed a heavy wind with a flap of its wings, giving Atumus a hard time with trying to not get blown away.

"Trap, activate!" Xandon's trap flipped open, the heavy wind slowly abating. "Attack Nullification negates your attack."

As response she picked one card out of her hand and placed it into the magic and trap card zone. "I set one card and end my turn."

"My turn. Draw! I summon Hieroglyphic Dragon - Dragon Geib."

Hieroglyphic Dragon - Dragon Geib, Level 4, 1800/400

"Then I activate Atumus' effect," Xandon announced. "By detaching one Overlay Unit, I can special summon one Dragon-type monster from my deck with its attack and defense at 0."

Hieroglyphic Dragon King - Atumus: Overlay Units: 2 → 1

A big golden sphere with the marking of an eye on it appeared on the field, everyone frowning.

Hieroglyphic Seal of the God Dragon, Level 8, 0/0

"He's planning to combat her with a ball?" James asked.

"Maybe he likes bowling?" Lamar went.

"I special summon Hieroglyphic Seal of the God Dragon," he said, then picking another card out of his hand, showing it to Riley. "I activate the instant magic card Reckless Summon of Hell. When I special summon a monster with 1500 attack or less and you have a monster on your field, you chose one monster on the field. Then, I special summon all copies of the summoned monster from my hand, deck, or graveyard while you do the same with your selected monster."

2 spheres appeared next to the other sphere, while Eguls remained all on its own.

"Three level 8 monsters," Brandon observed, knowing what was about to come. "He's going to Xyz summon."

"How do you know?" Stephanie asked.

"Why else would he have three level 8 monsters with 0 attack and defense on the field?" Brandon went.

**"I construct the Overlay Network with the two level 8 Hieroglyphic Seals!"** Xandon declared. "**Guardian of the destructive powers of the sun, I release thee! Awaken from your seal and give them a taste of your powers! With the other dragons giving you support, victory is ours! Xyz Summon! Appear, Rank 8, Hieroglyphic God Dragon - Ennead!"**

The partly golden-armored dragon uttered a loud roar as it emitted an intense heat that made the temperature almost unbearable.

Hieroglyphic God Dragon - Ennead, Rank 8, 3000/2400, Overlay Units: 2

"I activate Ennead's effect! By detaching one Overlay Unit, I can release a number of monsters from my hand or field, and destroy an equal number of cards," Xandon explained, the last remaining sphere and Dragon Geib disappearing from the field. "And because Hieroglyphic Seal and Dragon Geib have lent their powers, I can destroy two cards on the field. God Incinerate!"

The dragon shot a large stream of fire at Riley's set card and Eguls, burning them away. Riley took a step back when the fire was gone. Xandon had left her with an empty field while he had 2 monsters on it.

This was bad.

"Atumus, direct attack," Xandon ordered. "Royal Incinerator."

The dark purple dragon shot a dark purple flame at Riley, taking away a large chunk of her life.

Riley: 4000 → 1600

"Ennead, direct attack. Divine Scorcher!"

Ennead roared as its wings began to emit fire, its whole body soon following. The flames soon began to spread, engulfing the whole duel field in it.

Brandon looked at it, remembering a thing he knew from Jason's duels.

_Damage somehow becomes real against them... _His eyes then widened, his thoughts sinking in. "This is bad. We have to get her out of there."

James, seeing the intensity of the flames and not wanting Riley to get hurt, immediately agreed. "Right! Turn off the duel field!"

"We can't do that, James," Kate informed. "The duel isn't over yet."

"So getting someone hurt by flames is necessary?" James asked.

"But it isn't real. It can't burn her," Kate clarified.

Then, a black-haired boy suddenly walked into the room, falling straight onto the controls. The duel field began to disappear as some buttons began to flash.

The duel field then somehow disappeared, everyone looking up to the room Kate was in.

Kai shot everyone a thumbs up with a grin while Brandon smirked. He had told Kai once that damage was real against Justin and Xandon so that he needed to watch out. The blond was glad he didn't forgot about it.

"I'm sorry!" Kai went in the small room, coming up with the best lie he could come up with at the very moment. "I tripped over something and fell straight onto the controls and now the duel field is gone."

"It's fine," Kate assured with a sigh. "You guys had won the duel, anyway."

**Xandon: WIN**

Xandon, glad that the duel was over, placed his headphones on, and joined the other All-Star Trinity's students while everyone of Your Move, except Emily and Brandon, rushed over to Riley to see if she was alright.

"Shouldn't you join them?" Brandon asked, pointing out the obvious. "She's your sister."

"She's not my sister. Not for the time being," she simply answered.

Brandon noticed the worried look in her eyes but decided to keep his mouth shut. It was better not to mess in family affairs.

Your Move then looked at Xandon. How could someone wearing a knitted hat and sunglasses around this time of the year, and clothed in a cloak (And the girls were sure of it that they even saw a little bit of make up on his face) beat Riley on his second turn?

Brandon sought eye contact with Kai, who had already joined back with the students of All-Star Trinity. After a couple of seconds, eye contact was made and Brandon smirked.

Kai knew from the many years of friendship with the blond that his smirk, in this situation, was his way of thanking him.

He simply grinned back.

And then it was James' turn to duel.

* * *

Don't look through it, you'll get to know your deck better during the duel he said.

If you do, you're probably going to lose he didn't say.

James reminded himself to not always listen to what Brandon said. If he had looked through the deck, he could have thought of some strategies to use. Now he seemed like an amateur who didn't even know what Duel Monsters was.

Right now, his opponent had a Gear Gigant Cross on the field with 1 card left in his hand with no set cards. He apparently thought it wasn't necessary and James agreed with him.

James himself had no set cards and no monsters on his field after Gear Gigant Cross destroyed it last turn. The only thing James had a supremacy with was with the cards in his hand. He still had 5 cards in it, but there were high-level monsters in there, and because he had nothing on his field to use as a release, he was unable to use them.

And it was his turn now, too. "My turn! Draw!"

"I play the magic card Pot of Greed! This card allows me to draw 2 new cards!"

James drew his 2 new cards and his eyes widened. Were these... Pendulum monsters?

He thought it was amazing but he had absolutely no idea on how to use them. But he had seen Brandon doing it twice, so he kind of knew where to place them.

He inspected the arm blade of his duel disk, counting all the monster card zones. 5, but there was still room on the far sides for another cards to fit.

He picked the two cards out of his hand, showing them to his opponent. **"With the scale 1 Magician of Astromancy and the scale 8 Magician of Chronomancy, I'm setting the Pendulum Scale!"**

Magician of Astromancy, Scale 1

Magician of Chronomancy, Scale 8

In pillars of light, a white-clothed magician and a black-clothed magician rose up into the air, the number '1' and '8' appearing underneath them.

**"With this, I'm able to simultaneously summon monster from level 2 up to 7!" **James explained, a hole opening up between the two pillars. **"Pendulum summon! Appear, my monsters!"**

"Devil's Summoner!"

Devil's Summoner, Level 6, 2400/2000

"Dark Red Enchanter!"

Dark Red Enchanter, Level 6, 1700/2200

Justin scowled upon the appearance of the monsters, gritting his teeth. "This is impossible! How can two duelists of a filthy Duel School like this one use Pendulum summon!?"

He obviously knew how with one of them but with James it was another story.

Your Move stood flabbergasted after James' Pendulum summon. They never knew he possessed Pendulum monsters, let alone use them.

"Alright!" James went, preparing to attack until a small screen popped up in front of him. "Eh? Brandon?"

"Before you attack, I want to inform you of Gear Gigant Cross' effect. When it leaves the field, he can special summon one level 3 or lower Geargia monster from the graveyard," Brandon explained. "So with attacking, you'll reach nothing. Instead, overlay the two."

"Overlay?" James asked.

Brandon nodded. "There's a card in there that can Gear Gigant Cross disappear from his side of the field, but not entirely disappearing from the field."

"What card is that?"

"With the information given, I'm sure you can figure that out on your own," Brandon said.

The small screen then disappeared and James shrugged. He guessed he would just overlay the two, then. Using the touch screen of his duel disk to look through the contents of his extra deck for a Xyz monster that could do as Brandon said, he began to frown. A lot of the cards in there were quite good. Brandon had really gone all out with creating the deck.

When he found the card, he grinned, stopping to look through the extra deck. He now knew exactly what card to use.

**"I construct the Overlay Network with the level 6 Devil's Summoner and Dark Red Enchanter!" **he said, sure of it that that was how people brought out their Xyz monsters. **"This monster uses her cute charms to use your own monsters against you! Xyz summon! Time for your summoning act, Rank 6! Magi Magi Magician Gal!"**

A blonde magician wearing a revealing blue outfit landed down on the field, winking at Gear Gigant.

Magi Magi Magician Gal, Rank 6, 2400/2000, Overlay Units: 2

"I activate Magician Gal's effect! Once per turn, by banishing one Overlay Unit and banishing one card in my hand, I can take control of one of your monsters until the end of my turn!" James explained, Magician Gal absorbing an Overlay Unit through her staff. She then winked at Gear Gigant Cross, who began to blush. (For as far it's possible for a machine.) Gear Gigant Cross then switched sides, James leaving his opponent with no cards left on his field.

"Battle phase! Gear Gigant Cross! Direct attack!"

Upon the order, Gear Gigant Cross threw a punch at his original owner, knocking him back.

?: 4000 → 1700

"Magician Gal, finish this!" James ordered. "Magi Magi Burning!"

Magician Gal shot an energy beam from her staff at the opponent, exploding when it made contact with his face.

?: 1700 → 0

**James: WIN**

Your Move cheered as James won. They were now leading against All-Star Trinity. A thing they would have never thought since they knew they would duel against them.

And there was only one more duel left.

* * *

He grinned as the duel ended.

He had originally come to see Xandon and Brandon duel. Instead, he even got a free third duel to watch.

He then laughed to himself. Never could these people be a threat to them. Not even in their wildest dreams. At least he knew how to compose his deck for when he went up against them.

Preparing to leave, he turned away. He had no interest in watching the last duel. Brandon and Xandon had already dueled and that was the only reason for him being present.

But he saw a blonde looking at him. She frowned, looking to the sidelines.

"Brandon? What are you doing there when—" When she looked back at where he was supposed to be, she saw that the blond boy was there.

She was either going crazy or it was his evil twin. Probably a combination of both.

'Brandon' smirked, speaking up. "I'm not Brandon."

He then smiled, somehow turning into electricity, storming off towards her Duel Disk. The thing caught fire immediately and Emily luckily managed to remove her cards from the deck zone so that they couldn't be set on fire, too.

The electric wave then rushed up into the air again, briefly taking Brandon's form again. He looked at Brandon and Xandon one more time before disappearing with a mischievous laugh.

Your Move saw Emily's Duel Disk going up in flames, knowing that she wouldn't be able to duel without one.

"What just happened?" Stephanie asked.

"I don't know," Emily spoke, seeing how her Duel Disk was nowhere close to a usable condition.

"Take mine," Brandon ordered, throwing it towards her. "I know that the colors don't fit you, but that shouldn't be a problem for the duel."

Justin tapped his foot on the floor impatiently, growling slightly. "Can we make this quick, please? The faster I'm done, the faster I can escape this place."

Emily placed Brandon's Duel Disk over her wrist, placing her cards in it. She shot Justin a confident look, the latter giving her an annoyed look for having to wait so long.

"Seems everything's ready," Kate spoke. "Let's go then!"

The two nodded, activating their Duel Disks.

""DUEL!""

* * *

**Credits for Ennead, Eguls, and a part of Magician Gal's chants go to Ghost83.**

**I hope that you enjoyed reading this chapter, and I wish all of you a nice day.**

**See ya!**


	13. Chapter 13

**I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh! Arc-V. I only own my OCs.**

* * *

**At guest: Of course. Imperial Claw Fusion Dragon, Clear Wing Synchro Dragon, Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon, and Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon are of great importance for the plot. Both in the anime and in this fic.**

* * *

Fourth and last stand-off! Within the eye of the storm - the Yosenjus!

* * *

""DUEL!""

"Ladies first," Justin said.

"Only because I want to," Emily said, slapping a card on the black arm blade. "First, I summon Serena the Melodious Diva in defense position!"

Serena the Melodious Diva, Level 4, 400/1900

"Then I activate the effect of another Diva in my hand! When I control a 'Melodious' monster, I can special her to my field," Emily explained, a yellow-skinned woman dressed in blue appearing next to the dive that was dressed in pink. "I special summon Sonata the Melodious Diva!"

Sonata the Melodious Diva, Level 3, 1200/1000

"And now, Sonata's effect activates!" Emily informed. "While she is on the field when she's special summoned, all Fairy-type monsters on my field gain 500 attack and defense!"

Serena the Melodious Diva: 400/1900 → 900/2400

Sonata the Melodious Diva: 1200/1000 → 1700/1500

"I set one card and end my turn."

"My turn! Draw!" Justin immediately played a magic card, a shrine with 12 candles in it appearing behind him. "I activate the permanent magic, Yokai Shine of Trials!"

"Then, I activate Momentary Truce, preventing both of us from battle damage until the end of your next turn, then, we both draw 1 card," Justin said, drawing one card while urging Emily to do the same. "I set one card and end my turn."

**Emily: 4000, Cards x3**

**Justin: 4000, Cards x4**

"My turn! Draw!" Emily smirked as she activated her magic card, a swirling vortex appearing behind her, drawing Sonata and a Melodious monster from her hand into it. "I activate the magic card Fusion, fusing Sonata and Aria in my hand!"

"Fusion summon, eh?" Justin shrugged. "Let's go. I'll bring it down, anyway!"

**"Echoing melodious voice! Flowing melody! With guidance of the baton, gather your power! Fusion summon! Now come here to the stage! Melodious Maestra - Meisterin Schubert!"**

Melodious Maestra - Meisterin Schubert, Level 6, 2400/2000

"Then I release Serena! And she can be used as 2 releases for the summon of a Fairy-type monster!" Emily explained, Serena disappearing from the field. **"Enchanting Melody echoing in the heaven. Awaken the sleeping virtuoso. Come, level 8, Melodious Maestra - Prodigy Mozart!"**

Melodious Maestra - Prodigy Mozart, Level 8, 2600/2000

"Try defeating that," Emily said, throwing her hair back. "Turn end."

"My turn! Draw!" Justin then grinned, adding the card to her hand. "It's time that I show you... The strength of the perfect duelist!"

He picked two cards out of his hand, placing them on the far ends of the arm blade of his Duel Disk. **"With the scale 3 Yosenju Sarenshinchu and the scale 5 Yosenju Urenshinchu, I'm setting the Pendulum Scale!"**

In a transparent blue light, two halves of a Torii Gate rose up in the air, a glowing number '3' and '5' appearing underneath them.

Yosenju Sarenshinchu, Scale 3

Yosenju Urenschinchu, Scale 5

"Pendulum...!" she gasped, taking a small step back. Justin simply grinned.

"Of course. As the three strongest duelists in All-Star Trinity, all three Master Rank duelists are able to Pendulum summon," Justin revealed.

But Emily then remembered something from Brandon's Pendulum summon and James' that she had just seen. By setting two monsters with a certain scale, only monsters with levels that fell in between the two scales could be special summoned from the hand.

Which meant that... "You are only able to special summon level 4 monsters from your hand."

Brandon's eyes narrowed at that remark. The Yosenjus were the archetype that have been used the most and the longest by Justin. He normally switched decks after a couple of days if they didn't meet his expectations, but because the Yosenjus were lasting longer than he had thought, Brandon knew about the two Pendulum monsters. It wouldn't be 'only' level 4 monsters.

Justin grinned at it, beginning to explain. "When I have a Yosenju in my other Pendulum zone, I can make Urenschinchu's scale 11."

The number underneat Urenschinchu changed, the '5' becoming '11'.

Yosenju Urenschinchu: Scale 5 → Scale 11

"Then I normal summon Yosenju Kamaitachi!" Justin spoke, quickly normal summoning another monster. "Kamaitachi allows me to normal summon another Yosenju monster! This time, I normal summon Yosenju Kamanitachi! And Kamanitachi allows me to normal summon a Yosenju monster too when he's normal summoned! So this time, I normal summon Kamamitachi!"

Yosenju Kamaitachi, Level 4, 1600/500

Yosenju Kamanitachi, Level 4, 1800/200

Yosenju Kamamitachi, Level 4, 1500/800

Three monsters that resembled each other quite a bit now stood in front of Justin, while 3 candles within the shrine began to lit up.

Yokai Shrine of Trials: 0 Yosen Counters → 3 Yosen Counters

Everyone looked at the shrine in confusion, wondering what that was about, forcing Justin to explain again.

"Each time a Yosenju monster is normal summoned or special summoned, I can place one Yosen Counter on the shrine," Justin explained. "And now that it has 3 Yosen Counters on it, I remove all of them to add 1 Yosenju monster from my deck to my hand."

A card ejected itself from the deck holder, Justin eagerly adding it to his hand.

"I'm able to simultaneously summon monsters from level 4 to 10," Justin reminded, a hole opening up between the two pillars. "**Pendulum summon! Oh wind-clad chief of phantoms! Gouge those lands with your raging cloak! Come forth, Mayosenju Daibakaze!"**

A beam emerged from the hole, crashing down upon the ground behind Justin. A large, weasel-like monster appearing on the field with a harsh cry.

Mayosenju Daibakaze, Level 10, 3000/300

"And now, Yokai Shrine of Trials gains one Yosenju counter!" Justin declared, a candle lighting up.

Yokai Shrine of Trials: 0 Yosen Counters → 1 Yosen Counter

"Then, I activate Mayosenju Daibakaze's effect! When he's normal summoned or special summoned, I can return up to two monsters from the field back to the hand!" he explained, Emily's eyes widening. "I return Schubert and your set card back to the hand!"

With a loud roar and a heavy wind, the two cards disappeared from the field, Schubert returning to the extra deck.

"Then I activate Kamaitachi's effect! When I control another Yosenju monster, I can return one face-up card from your side of the field back to your hand!" Justin explained, Emily widening her eyes as Prodigy Mozart got blown back to her hand.

Everyone at Your Move, except for Brandon, saw it with eyes wide. Justin now had a free ticket to attack.

"Battle phase! Kamanitachi! Direct attack!"

Kamanitachi slashed at Emily with its sword, lowering her life.

Emily: 4000 → 2200

"Daibakaze! Direct attack!" Justin ordered, Daibakaze unleashing a tornado at Emily, wiping away the remainder of her life.

Emily: 2200 → 0

**Justin: WIN**

"Told you that I'm the perfect duelist. And I didn't even need to know my perfect lockdown," Justin boasted, Duel Disk deactivating as he returned to the All-Star Trinity side. "And like I said, don't come crying on my shoulder now that I've wiped the floor with you."

"Don't worry. She has us for that," Brandon butted in. "Not that she needs it."

The All-Star Trinity teacher clasped his hands together, making a deep bow.

"Thank you for your hospitality, Your Move Duel School," he thanked. "We'd like to meet your duelists again at the upcoming tournament."

"Same here," Chris said.

"Now then, All-Star Trinity, it's time that we take our leave," the teacher spoke. "Farewell, Your Move."

All-Star Trinity then left, not really sure how both Riley and Emily got defeated during their opponent's second turn.

"Why the sad faces?" James asked. "I mean, we didn't lose the match against them."

"Yeah, a draw against one of the top Duel Schools in the region is an amazing thing to achieve," Lamar agreed.

"And I've learnt how to Pendulum summon and Xyz summon, too!" James added. "And we know that someone here can Fusion summon."

Lamar and James eyed Brandon, who only frowned. "What are you looking at?"

""At you, _Fusion user._""

He uttered an annoyed growl, his eyes narrowing. "Don't call me that. It's normal for people to use Fusion."

"But you said that it's the easiest and weakest summoning," Stephanie interrupted. "But you used it yourself."

"I did say it was the easiest summoning, but that doesn't necessarily have to be a bad thing. And besides that, a lot of Fusion monsters don't even have an effect. That's why I said it," Brandon explained. "But, I'll be taking those words back now."

"Your Fusion summon. It's an advanced one, isn't it?" Daniel asked.

"A Fusion summon without Fusion," Chloe added. "Contact Fusion. I know that it is an advanced form of Fusion summoning. I can do it, too."

"Actually, it's the same as Advance summon in my book. So there's nothing really 'advanced' to it," Brandon admitted. "However, Beast-Eyes Pendulum Dragon is one of the few Fusion monsters that can be special summoned by both Contact Fusion and Fusion summoning with the Fusion magic card."

He then looked Chloe straight in the eye, making her a bit insecure. "You said you can do it, too. I want to see it."

She blinked a couple of times before pointing at herself. Brandon then nodded. "Show me. Your Contact Fusion."

It was a bit sudden to her, after some of them had dueled against All-Star Trinity, but she wanted to duel too. She still needed to keep up with everyone.

"Alright!" Kate suddenly said, overhearing the conversation. "You can duel in this room, but are you sure you're ready, Brandon? You've dueled not too long ago."

The blond frowned. Did they really think he would duel? "Oh, it's not me who will duel. I want to see Contact Fusion in action against the other form of Fusion summoning. So if a 'Fusion expert' could take this one, I would appreciate that."

All the "Fusion experts" shot each other a look before Chris smiled.

He knew the perfect duelist to do that.

* * *

Brandon silently leaned with his back against the wall, waiting for the duel to start.

From what he had seen thus far, James managed to master his deck well thus far.

Riley's Synchro summoning looked better than ever before and she would easily knock some heads in with it.

He had also gotten a good indication of Emily's skills and dueling style. Thus far, he knew quite a lot about Your Move's dueling.

And the duel that was about to come would make sure he could learn even more.

"The duel is about to begin, Brandon."

Kate noticed him leaning against the wall, and upon noticing the two duelists were ready, decided to inform him of that. He was the one who requested the duel in the first place.

He nodded, Kate's attention shifting away from him when she saw it.

He then picked out the main body of his Duel Disk, dialing a number and bringing it to his ear.

"It's me. I need you to do something for me."

* * *

Both of them inserted their decks into the deck holders, activating their Duel Disks.

""DUEL!""

"My turn!" Chloe immediately summoned a monster, an elderly man with a white beard and his hair tied in a ponytail appearing on the field. "I summon Spirit Beast Tamer Elder!"

Spirit Beast Tamer Elder, Level 2, 200/1000

"Elder allows me to normal summon a 'Spirit Beast' during the turn he is normal summoned," Chloe explained, Elder using the book he held in his left hand to cast something that seemed to be a spell. "I normal summon Spirit Beast Petolphin!"

A pink dolphin appeared on the field, silver ornaments on its body.

Spirit Beast Petolphin, Level 4, 0/2200

**"Spirit Beast Tamer Elder, Spirit Beast Petolphin, Contact Fusion!" **Chloe ordered, the two disappearing into a swirling vortex. **"Sonar Mammal, bathe your soul within the Sage of summoning and merge to create the ultimate defense of the spiritual plain! Fusion summon! Appear, level 6, Tamed Espritual Beast Petolphin!"**

Tamed Espritual Beast Petolphin, Level 6, 200/2800

"I set one card and end my turn."

"My turn! Draw! I activate Angel's Charity!" Daniel declared, revealing the magic card. "This card lets me draw 3 cards, and afterwards, I discard two."

He drew 3 cards, discarding two others from his hand to the graveyard. He then revealed another magic card, a swirling vortex appearing behind him. "I activate Fusion! I fuse Edge Imp Scissors and Furnimal Cat in my hand!"

The two cards disappeared into a swirling vortex behind him as he began his chant. "**Claws of the demon and sharp fangs! ****Become one in the mystic vortex and show us a new form! Fusion summon! Show yourself! Mystical jungle beast that rips everything to shreds!Deathtoy Scissors Tiger!"**

Deathtoy Scissors Tiger, Level 6, 1900/1200

"I activate Furnimal Cat's effect! When its sent to the grave for a Fusion summon, I can add Fusion from my graveyard to my hand," explained Daniel, adding the Fusion he discarded through Angel's Charity back to his hand. "Then I activate Scissors Tiger's effect! When its Fusion summoned, I can destroy target cards up to the amount of monsters used to Fusion summon it and destroy them! I destroy your set card and Petolphin!"

Scissors Tiger cut through the set card with its scissors, but the jewel on Petolphin's head began to glow when the tiger got close, throwing it back to Daniel's field.

"Petolphin can't be destroyed by card effects," Chloe explained.

As response, Daniel revealed Fusion again, the same swirling vortex from before appearing behind him. "I activate Fusion! Fusing together my second Edge Imp Scissors and Furnimal Bear in my hand!"

**"Claws of the demon, and sharp fangs! Become one and reveal a new form! Fusion Summon! Appear, horrifying beast that shreds everything! Deathtoy Scissors Bear!"**

Deathtoy Scissors Bear, Level 6, 2200/1800

Upon the appearance of the bear, Brandon's eyes merely narrowed while the attack of both monsters suddenly rose.

Deathtoy Scissors Tiger: 1900 → 2400

Deathtoy Scissors Bear: 2200 → 2800

"Through Scissors Tiger's effect, all Deathtoy monsters gain 300 attack for each Furnimal and Deathtoy monster on the field," Daniel explained. "Now, I normal summon Furnimal Dog!"

A small dog with wings on its back appeared on the field, the attack of Scissors Bear and Scissors Tiger increasing again.

Furnimal Dog, Level 4, 1700/1000

Deathtoy Scissors Tiger: 2400 → 2700

Deathtoy Scissors Bear: 2800 → 3100

"Then I activate Furnimal Dog's effect. Because it's normal summoned, I can add a 'Furnimal' monster to my hand," Daniel explained, adding the card to his hand.

"Scissors Bear, attack Petolphin!" Daniel ordered, Bear heading off towards the dolphin. Once the bear was close, it readied itself to attack, but Petolphin began to glow, Elder and a small version of Petolphin in its place.

"By returning Petolphin to the extra deck, I can special summon 1 banished Spirit Beast Tamer and one Spirit Beast monster in defense position," Chloe explained.

"I will still attack, anyway!" Daniel responded, Scissors Bear heading for Petolphin.

Petolphin fell victim to the bear, leaving only Elder behind.

"Furnimal Dog, attack Elder!" The small dog sunk its small teeth into Elder's arm, who frantically tried to shake it off before disappearing in small pieces.

"I direct attack with Deathtoy Scissors Tiger!" Daniel announced, the tiger letting out a growl before slashing at Chloe with its claws.

Chloe: 4000 → 1300

"Turn end."

**Chloe: 1300, Cards x2**

**Daniel: 4000, Cards x0**

"My turn! Draw!"

At that moment, Chloe got a call. She quickly apologized to whoever it was on the other end, hanging up. She then surrendered, and quickly apologized for everyone, leaving the room, and probably the Duel School, at high speed.

"What was that about?" Eldon asked, scratching the back of his head.

"It's not the first time it happened," Paris remembered.

"This is happening way too often now," Stephanie added.

While the rest of Your Move shared the mixed emotion of annoyance and confusion, Brandon's attention wandered off to Daniel.

There was something off. The archetype gave him an odd vibe, but despite that, he couldn't note any difference between the other Fusion archetype, outside for Contact Fusion.

He then turned away, leaving the room, and ultimately the Duel School.

"Let's hope he managed to find something."

* * *

"You? You want to join All-Star Trinity?"

The boy nodded, Justin beginning to laugh.

"You couldn't even survive the training!" he said. "Never will you be able to advance through the ranks here!"

"Cut him some slack, Justin."

The blond boy that leant against the wall was met with Justin's surprised gaze.

"You can't be serious, Kanbara," Justin said. "We can't let him join us! He's just a training reject!"

"I know," was the blond's immediate response, remembering how harsh the trainings were. "But the more duelists join us, the better. Besides, in the end, Master has the last decision."

"You're in," said man said, a smile finding its way on the boy's face. "Tomorrow you will start with the entrance duels to see which rank you will get."

The boy bowed before Master first before bowing before the three Master Rank duelists, leaving the four of them alone.

"Now, where I really called you here for," Master began. "Well done today. Both sides were good."

"Good? Two of Your Move got squashed on our second turns," Justin informed. "That's not good."

"But they had promising first turns," Master countered. "It would have been a good duel if it lasted longer."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever," Justin quickly dismissed it. "I didn't even need my lockdown. They now know how strong the perfect duelist is."

"If you would be so perfect, you would be on top of this school, wouldn't you think?" Brandon tauntingly asked.

"Whatever," shrugged Justin, a grin forming on his face. "You might be on top of this school, but at least I don't have daddy issues."

"I don't have daddy issues," denied the blond quickly.

"Oh that's right," Justin agreed, a smug smirk replaced the grin. "Because you don't have one!"

"At least mine doesn't spoil me all the time," Brandon countered. "Because of that, I can actually use a deck longer than 5 minutes."

"But it's not something to be proud of," Justin said. "Who wants a deck full of overgrown lizards?"

"What did you call them!?"

"You heard me. I called them overgrown lizards."

The blond's right eye began to twitch, uttering a growl. "I'll make you eat your words."

Master sighed at the scene unfolding before him, while Kai wondered if it always went like that in Master Rank during these meetings.

"Master, I know that I'm just the temporary third Master Rank duelist and I mean no disrespect but..." Kai motioned to Justin and Brandon with his hand. "THIS is what happens when you put the two people with probably the biggest egos of whole Maiami City in one room!"

Master cleared his throat, Justin and Brandon looking at the former while still holding each other's collar.

"Justin, Kai. You're dismissed," he spoke, Justin and Brandon letting go of each other's collar.

The two bowed before the man before leaving, leaving Brandon as the only Master Rank duelist present.

"I've found something interesting at Your Move, Master," he revealed.

"It's about the Fusion summoning, isn't it?" Master asked. "Don't bother. I already know about Contact Fusion."

"It's not Contact Fusion. It's the archetype of the opponent," Brandon said. "The archetype gave off a bad vibe to me."

"Do you know for sure that it's from them?" Master asked, knowing what Brandon was implying.

He nodded. "I've had contact with Leonardo about it. They measured the energy unleashed upon its summoning and they confirmed my thoughts."

He looked Master straight in the eyes, the crimson eyes looking more serious than they had ever done before.

"It's an archetype from the Fusion Dimension."

* * *

**I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and I wish all of you a nice day.**

**See ya!**


	14. Chapter 14

**I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh! Arc-V. I only own my OCs.**

* * *

"Fusion Dimension archetype, huh?"

Master brought his fingers to his chin, taking his time to think.

"Do you think he is one of them?" he then asked.

Brandon shook his head. "Don't think so. But if he is, he might lead us to that what we need."

"I see."

A short silence fell, Brandon breaking it. "Why did you sent Xandon?"

"We need to know what we have at hands when he's necessary."

"I know, but I mean, testing him against Your Move? He can inflict real damage, Master," Brandon reminded him. "Riley could have been burned for life."

Master raised an eyebrow. "Are you actually caring for the people in there?"

"Of course not," Brandon answered, quickly dismissing Master's thought. "But we shouldn't draw too much attention to the members of Resistance. They are vital for the goal that we're trying to achieve."

"Don't worry. I now know what exactly Xandon can do," Master said. "The only thing left is for you to focus on your mission."

"Got it," he answered, walking to the door. "I won't fail you. Master."

Master simply watched him leave, hoping that he would keep his word.

* * *

"Mom, I'm home."

He took off his shoes and his body warmer, hanging the latter on the coat rack. No reaction followed, and Brandon frowned. Was she working? No, that couldn't be. She never was at work at this hour. Out with friends? Could be possible, but Brandon knew that his mom would always inform him of things like that.

He walked into the living room, stepping over the sleeping Tyson. He frowned when he saw someone sitting on the sofa. Someone who wasn't native to this area of Maiami City.

Grey denim jacket over a black shirt, charcoal black jeans, grey shoes, silver hair falling to the left, a long red scarf with the ends trailing to the small of his back. The person was way too familiar to him.

The figure looked up to the blond boy, placing his tea on the table.

"Ah, Brandon. Fancy meeting you here," he greeted.

"You're home," his mom connected. "Do you want some tea?"

"No, thank you, mom," he said, changing his attention to the boy on the sofa. "Well, this **is **my house, Leonardo."

Leonardo simply took a sip of his tea, while Brandon took a seat on the other sofa.

"What exactly brings you to my humble abode?" he asked. "People with agendas like yours don't come to this area of Maiami City for fun."

"I actually like it that you live in a normal house despite all the money you earn as a professional duelist," Leonardo admitted, completely off topic. "But to answer your question, I am indeed here for something."

"And that something is?" Brandon asked, leaning back in the sofa.

"I hope that you didn't forget that our Duel Schools would help each other out if necessary," Leonardo spoke.

"Don't worry. I didn't," Brandon revealed. "So what do you need my help for?"

"I need your help with the research of Pendulum summoning," Leonardo answered. "And to do that, I need your monster: Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon."

Brandon's eyes narrowed. "Why exactly that one?"

"Because that monsters is a real Pendulum monsters. The energy output of it is far greater than the ones LDS created," Leonardo admitted. "So I would like to borrow it for our research."

It was true that All-Star Trinity and LDS would help each other if it was necessary. Even with researches like this. But, would he really be able to lend out Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon? What in the world would happen to it? How long would he need to do it without his dragon?

Leonardo simply took a sip of his tea again. He had already expected Brandon to not agree immediately, seeing the attachment he had to all of his cards. So, he just allowed the blond boy to think it over, prepared to persuade him if he would refuse.

And the tea Brandon's mother made was amazing, so it would be worth waiting as long as there was still tea in his cup.

He frowned as he saw Brandon extending his arm to him, something in his hand.

"You can borrow Odd-Eyes, but only for three days maximum. As a fellow duelist, I know that you will be careful with it, so I trust you," he said, directing a dangerous look towards Leonardo. "But, if I discover even the tiniest scratch on Odd-Eyes, then—"

"Don't worry. Nothing will happen to Odd-Eyes," Leonardo assured, accepting the card. "Thank you for your cooperation. This will really help."

"No need to thank me. Our Duel Schools are helping each other out, I still owe you, and as fellow duelist I kind of feel obliged to help you," Brandon admitted.

Leonardo simply stood up, placing the empty cup back on the table. "I need to head back to Leo Corporation. Thank you for the hospitality, Emperor."

"You can just call me 'Brandon', you know," Brandon said, walking with the silver-haired teen to the door.

Before he stepped out of the door, Leonardo faced Brandon, the blond wondering if he forgot something. "Thank your mother for the tea. It was delicious."

"Will do," the blond promised. "Catch you later, Leonardo."

"Until next time, Brandon."

The silver-haired teen stepped into the limousine, the driver pulling up quickly. Brandon closed the door, not having the urge to see the limousine leave.

His mother frowned as Brandon passed through the kitchen to get a drink, noticing that he was alone.

"Is you friend gone already?" she asked.

"Yeah," he answered, closing the kitchen door, adding inwardly that Leonardo isn't his friend.

His mother heaved a disappointed sigh, making Brandon wonder what's wrong.

"I forgot to ask him where he bought that scarf."

Brandon heaved a sigh of annoyance. Didn't his mother know that scarf was a 'trademark' thing? Not everyone is supposed to have a scarf as badass as Leonardo's and Brandon was sure of it that you couldn't just buy them in a random store.

"Honestly, mom..."

* * *

"President, we've made some progress on the research."

Leonardo remained silent, staring out of the large window in his office.

"How much longer will the research take?"

The scientist first frowned, then shrugged. "Don't know. Probably around a day or 4."

"That's too long," Leonardo replied immediately. "I can only borrow the Pendulum Dragon for three days maximum. Those three days should be enough if we work hard enough."

"President, I don't mean to be rude, but that means that we should entirely focus on that one card while neglecting our other tasks," the scientist protested, Leonardo said nothing.

"I understand that. Therefore, I will give you permission to do that," he said. "Also, make sure you don't damage the card."

It sounded like a weird request to the scientist, but he simply nodded. "Don't worry, president. We'll be careful and have it done within the time limit."

"Very well. Then now, get back to work," he ordered. "The quicker I can give the Emperor his dragon back, the better and the earlier we can perfect the mass produced Pendulum monsters."

"Got it." The scientist bowed before leaving, silently closing the door behind him.

Leonardo continued to look out of his widow, his eyes narrowing. The report of the research had things in it that highly surprised him.

"Your Pendulum monster... Brandon Kanbara, could you perhaps be...?"

* * *

"Our research is done, president."

The scientist walked up to Leonardo's desk, placing Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon on it.

"I see. Sorry to make you work non-stop, but I had promised to return it today," Leonardo revealed. "Anyways, thank you for all your hard work."

"No problem, president. Please let us know if you need something else."

The scientist bowed, leaving the office. Leonardo turned around in his chair, looking out of the window.

"Do you think you can return the card to him, Enigma?"

The boy wore a grey hoodie over a black shirt, dark worn-out jeans and white sneakers. The black hair brought out the crimson red eyes very well, the same crimson red eyes that boringly watched over the city.

He, however, didn't answer immediately. And he didn't really answered Leonardo's question, either.

"This Pendulum Dragon Master..." he began, "is he that powerful?"

His gaze then shifted from Maiami City to Leonardo, who continued to look out of his large window.

"First of all, it's the Dragonic Emperor. Second, it really depends on your view," Leonardo said. "I think he's a strong duelist. Other might disagree."

Enigma said nothing as he turned back to watch over the city again. Leonardo simply closed his eyes for a short moment, turning away from the window in his chair.

"I see. Forget about my request," Leonardo simply said, sighing. "I'll have Kirito and Rex return it."

* * *

Despite the good weather, there weren't many people out. It honestly surprised Emily.

She normally didn't go out without a plan on what to do, but this time it was different.

She wasn't as speaking terms with anyone at Your Move, except for Stephanie and Brandon. The first went somewhere with her parents, while the second, well, he was just who he was.

And the people of her normal school were too busy with their homework, the homework she had already long finished. (She greatly thanked the study room within Your Move for that.)

Her feet brought her to the park. And just like everywhere she walked, there weren't many people out. She didn't know why, but she didn't complain about it.

After all, the less people in the park, the more peaceful it was. And a peaceful park was a nice park to her.

"Come on, sweetie! Go out with me one more time!"

And there went the peace. Emily heaved a sigh as the shouting filled her ear, an annoyed voice answering back.

"Don't call me 'sweetie'. And no, I won't."

"But we're meant to be!"

"In your head maybe. Not in mine."

"But why not? We already went out once! A second time won't hurt you!"

"It will. You work on my nerves. And we went out once because you wouldn't leave me alone until I went out with you."

After hearing the voice some more, Emily realized who it was. She went to look in the direction the voices came from, indeed finding the person.

Brandon spoke to the girl with an annoyed expression on his face, that same annoyance being found back within his voice. He continued to lay on the grass underneath the big tree, a black-haired girl that was around their age (or so Emily guessed) hovering above his figure.

The black-haired girl heard footsteps through the grass, frowning at the blonde girl that walked towards them.

Emily stopped when she noticed the girl look at her, glancing to the girl and then back to Brandon, who by now had also noticed her.

"Who are you?" the black-haired girl immediately asked. Her voice suddenly sounded a lot less sweet than when she spoke against Brandon.

"I'm Emily," she introduced.

"What are you doing here?" By now, the girl was glaring at her.

She opened her mouth to answer her. To answer her that she just wanted to ask them to keep their voices down. Just so she could enjoy the peace.

But there still was Brandon, and he answered for her.

"I asked her to come here," he said. Emily frowned at the answer. He just lied so shamelessly that it surprised Emily.

"Why?" the girl asked him, the sweet tone in her voice suddenly returning. "I mean, I'm here. You don't need someone else."

"That's exactly the problem. You **are **here," he said. "But without me wanting it. I actually invited her here because I wanted it."

Emily decided to just see how it would unfold. Surely, Brandon would have a reason for saying that he invited her while that certainly wasn't the case.

"But why did you want her here?" the girl asked, hoping to this time gain an answer.

"We're dating."

It was silent for a while, a soft breeze blowing through the park. The girl didn't know what to say, and neither did Emily. The serious look in his eyes combined with him being able to lie without even trying made everything very convincing.

"Just play along," he mouthed towards the blonde, who quickly recovered and nodded.

"That's right," Emily confirmed, sitting down next to the blond in the grass. "Sorry I'm late. I still needed to feed the cats."

"Ah, it's fine," Brandon went in response, glad that she was willing to play along. But cats? He didn't know she had cats. Not that he cared. He was more of a dog person anyways, obviously.

His attention fell on the black-haired girl who was still being silent.

"Could you leave us alone now?" he asked.

She slowly nodded. Before turning away she glared at Emily, quickly examining her.

"You might have blonde hair and amazing blue eyes, but that doesn't mean that you can think you can last with him!" she sneered. "He can get much better than you!"

"And apparently, I'm better than you, so he can get better than you, too," Emily countered, while Brandon tried to hide his amused smirk.

The black-haired girl simply huffed before turning away, leaving towards a direction both Emily and Brandon didn't bother to pay attention to.

Brandon heaved a sigh of relief as the girl disappeared from his sight, scratching the back of his head.

"Sorry that you needed to play along, but it was the only way to get rid of her," he explained. "Anyways, you can get back to your friends now. Thanks for coming coincidently to my rescue."

"No problem. And well, I'm not really here with friends," she quickly added. "My friends from school are busy with homework and from Your Move I only speak with you and Stephanie, and she is gone somewhere with her parents."

"You should reconcile with the others."

She frowned at him. Why did he bring this up so suddenly? She then found herself glaring at him. "I won't. Not after what they did."

"I understand that you don't want to, but you have to. The tournament is coming up and you guys want to win as a unity. In order to become a unity, you first need to talk to them," Brandon spoke. "So just go in there, apologize, and see how things go from there."

She simply stared at the grass. He actually was right. She had known many of them from since she was little, and they've been through quite a lot together. Something like a leadership, no matter how big it was to her, shouldn't be able to 'unfriend' them.

"Besides, sisters need each other, don't they?" Brandon asked. "I mean, I'm an only child, but I'm sure not talking to your sister for days must hurt somewhere deep inside."

And right once again.

Brandon simply raised an eyebrow when he saw Emily take a stand, straightening her blue skirt.

"You're right. Maybe I should," Emily admitted. "Thanks for helping out."

He raised his right arm, making a quick movement with it, dismissing her thanks. "Just go to reconcile with your sister."

"Why do I get the feeling you want me gone?" she playfully asked, slightly narrowing her eyes.

"If you want to stay, that's fine too," he simply replied.

Emily nodded, simply deciding to stay. It was better than sitting all alone on a park bench.

The only problem was that it was just as silent as being alone, so she decided to start a conversation.

But what would you talk about with a person who preferred not to talk and where she knew absolutely no personal things about?

"You are Brandon Kanbara, right?"

The two looked up to find a boy with black hair and purple eyes. He wore a pitch-black jacket over a black v-necked shirt, white jeans with a black belt that had a silver buckle and silver shoes.

Brandon stood up so that he could look the boy in the eyes, nodding in confirmation. "That's me. But who are you?"

"I'm Kirito. Kirito Claymore," he introduced, extending his hand to the blond. Brandon shook the hand, recognizing the name somewhere.

"Kirito."

He repeated it once again to see if his brain could make him remember where he heard the name before, examining the black-haired boy to support his brain with his appearance.

"You're one of LDS' top students, right?" he asked, hoping that he was right. "Kirito Claymore, top student of the LDS Synchro course."

Kirito nodded at his words. "That's right. Even though I share that title with someone else."

The two smirked at each other, while Emily blinked a couple of times. These two apparently thought the same thing while she didn't even know what was going on. How in the world did Brandon know a person of LDS?

"Why exactly are you here Kirito?" he asked, taking out the main body of his Duel Disk. "A duel perhaps? I'll be happy to give you one."

"Actually, President asked me to return this to you." Kirito rummaged through the pockets of his jacket for a bit before taking out a card with a red dragon on it, handing it to the blond.

"Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon," Brandon identified, quickly taking the card. He examined the card to see if it was damaged, but it was in the same condition when he gave it to Leonardo, so everything was fine. "Thank you very much, Kirito. But how did you know I was here?"

"Well, Leonardo gave me your address but your mother said you were off to the park," he explained. He then took out the black main body of his Duel Disk, smirking. "And about that duel. I will accept."

"Very well."

They slipped their Duel Disks around their arms, ready start the duel, but they were interrupted by another person.

"Hey, Kirito. We don't have time for a duel," he said, running up to the black-haired boy. He then noticed that he was about to duel Brandon and he blinked a couple of times, pointing at the blond. "Hey, ain't that...?"

Kirito nodded. "That's him. And don't worry. I already returned his card, Rex."

The boy, revealed to be Rex, wore an outfit that had something Australian and archaeological's to it. He further had brown eyes and blue eyes, and Brandon guessed that he was around the same age. Even though he wondered how he got the scar underneath his left eye.

"President told us to only return the card, Kirito," Rex reminded him. "You can duel later on."

"Right," he nodded, smirking at Brandon. "Sorry, Kanbara. We'll have to duel another time."

Rex then grinned at the blond, apologizing too. "Sorry, but Kirito is a duel maniac. He can't help it."

"It's fine," Brandon assured, smirking back at them.

The two turned away, shooting him one more look.

"Until we meet again, Kanbara," Kirito said, while the blond nodded.

"See ya, Emperor!" Rex said. "And next time, we'll have a duel, too! So you can see the strength of the top student of the LDS Synchro course!"

The two then left, while Brandon's eyes slightly widened when he realized what Rex called him.

He said 'Emperor'. And Emily was still there.

"'Emperor'?" she repeated. "What's that all about? And why did those people have your card?"

Brandon simply shrugged. "I have truly no idea. I guess I lost Odd-Eyes on the way here."

"Who's this 'president' they talked about, anyways?" Emily then wondered. "And how did they even know that was your card?"

"I guess they're just working for someone," he fake-guessed. He knew full well who that president was, but Emily didn't need to know.

He then took a step forward, looking back at her. "I have to go. Make sure you reconcile with everyone."

She simply nodded, watching him leave. "Bye!"

He simply saluted with two fingers while walking away, sighing when he was so far away that she couldn't see him anymore.

Rex and Kirito had given him more trouble than they had realized, but he luckily managed to save himself out of it.

He just hoped that he wouldn't be brought in a situation like that again any time soon.

* * *

**Sorry, but I just had to include Reiji's badass scarf. Arc-V wouldn't be Arc-V without it.**

**I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and I wish all of you a nice day.**

**See ya!**


	15. Chapter 15

**I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh! Arc-V. I only own my OCs.**

* * *

** JadenCage: Dunno yet, depends on some stuff.**

** Guest, I was thinking about that, but 'Fandon' and 'Sandon' don't really sound human-like and 'normal' to me. Xandon is tolerable in that aspect.**

* * *

"Where are the boys?"

The girls all shrugged at Kate's question. It was almost time to leave and the boys were nowhere to be seen.

"If they won't be here on time we need to leave without them," Chris informed. "So they will do good if they hurry up."

"Yo, yo, what's up?"

A grinning James entered the room, Eldon, Lamar and Daniel following.

"There you guys are," Kate said, but quickly noticed one was missing. "Wait, where is the other one?"

The boys looked around, sure of it that he had followed them.

"Where is who?"

Brandon stepped into the room as last, holding something in his right hand.

"They are asking where you are," Lamar answered, as some people brought their palms to their foreheads.

"What's that?" Michelle asked, pointing at the cup in the blond's right hand.

"This?" he asked, slightly raising it. "It's a vanilla milkshake. That new American shop next door sells it. And it's good stuff. It's very good stuff."

"So you came late because of a vanilla milkshake?" Riley asked, quite ridiculed that a guy like Brandon would be held up by something like that.

"Not really," he answered, shrugging. "We've also had cheeseburgers, a lot of bacon, and all other kind of American stuff."

"This early?" Chloe asked. "How are boys able to eat so much this early?"

"We're boys," Eldon noted. "That's just in our nature."

"In your nature or not, we need to leave right now," Kate brought to matter. "So all of you, get in that van!"

Everyone nodded, hurrying out of the room towards the van but before they stepped into the van, Brandon was stopped by Kate.

"No drinking inside the van. You could spill it," she said.

The blond simply shrugged, proceeding to drink up the rest of the milkshake, but it was snatched out of his hand.

"I'll help you with that," Emily said, an expression of horror painting Brandon's features as she slurped up his holy beverage through the straw. "Here you go."

She handed it back to him, and he quickly took it back, heaving a sigh of relief as he noticed that she left some for him.

"That's for me? You shouldn't have done that!" James jokingly insisted, snatching the milkshake out of his hand just like had been done before. He, too, began to slurp up the beverage, but unlike Emily, he left nothing.

"It really is good stuff," James agreed, throwing away the empty cup before stepping into the van.

Brandon's eye began to twitch as he realized his milkshake was gone. He simply stepped into the van, sitting down at the back with a sigh, absently-minded staring out of the window.

"You guys are so evil."

* * *

The Duel School was totally different from both Your Move and All-Star Trinity. He wouldn't necessary call the student 'geeks' but they sure were smarter on the technological part.

Those guys could build robots and use them as simulator against themselves. Brandon already had difficulty with an easy math assignment.

But then he realized that he wouldn't even be dueling; he was already placed for the tournament already. So what in the world was he even doing there?

"What am I even doing here?" he wondered out loud, passing a duel field on which he saw a mechanical dragon destroying a monster, wiping out the remainder of the opponent's life.

"Because we are a unity. That also means everyone should come to a qualification duel to support each other," Kate clarified, earning a sigh from the blond boy.

"What's the meaning of this whole 'unity', anyways?" he asked.

"A unity is willing to do everything for each other. If one loses on the tournament, others will try their hardest to duel for him too and advance to the next round," Chris explained.

"It's a shame I'm not much of a teamplayer, then," he said. And it was partially true. At All-Star Trinity survival of the fittest went. If you even thought about working together with someone, you would easily be overthrown.

"That's why you're at this Duel School. You will learn to be one soon enough," Kate said. "And then we'll have a bigger chance that one of us wins the tournament."

"If you say so."

He continued to follow the group, looking around through the Duel School until they got to the duel field they needed to be, his mission still fresh in his mind.

He smirked to himself, as he repeated Kate's words in his head.

Such a shame for them that he had to betray them at one point, then.

* * *

"Your name is Wyatt?"

Wyatt nodded.

"Any you're sure that you are my opponent?"

Wyatt nodded again. Eldon scratched the back of his head.

Wyatt was at least 2 heads shorter than him, and probably younger too.

"How old are you exactly?"

"15."

Eldon frowned. He was of the same age as him, but Wyatt's appearance didn't help to make people believe that. He wore an overall over a white shirt, and he also had glasses. Not that it was a problem, it was just that...

Let's just say Eldon didn't initially think that boy needed to place for the tournament in the same category as him.

Eldon than got snapped out of his thoughts, making him focus on what he was initially on the duel field for.

"Both of you are ready?"

They both nodded, activating their Duel Disks.

"Let's go then."

""DUEL!""

* * *

Eldon had quickly brought out Elemental Hero Forestman, allowing him to add Fusion to his hand.

But he hadn't used it yet, to Brandon's big surprise. For a Fusion user, Fusion was an important card, and for an archetype like the Elemental Heroes, who's strength come from Fusion monsters, one could say it was strange Eldon didn't use Fusion yet.

He was probably up to something, Brandon guessed. But he'd prefer it if the duel would be over soon. He already hated the fact that people had finished his own milkshake for him, but the fact that he was practically forced to come and watch was even worse.

The others were probably searching for him somewhere, or not, but he didn't really care. He was comfortable leaning against a wall, watching the duel in silence.

Or well, he thought he could watch it in silence.

"What's a guy like you doing in here?"

Brandon glanced to his left. Standing on his left was a girl with silver hair, wearing an outfit that made her look like a gijinka of a certain monster. He couldn't quite lay his finger on it which monster, but still.

"I was forced to come," he replied, changing his attention back to the duel.

"You're Brandon Kanbara, right?" the girl asked, earning herself a short nod.

"I'm Cyber," she introduced, extending her hand to shake with his.

Brandon's arms continued to be crossed over each other, closing his eyes, opening them again after 3 seconds. "Seeing that you know my name, you probably know me already."

There was a silence, both watching at the duel between Eldon and Wyatt.

"My dragons would crush yours," she then said, making the boy smirk.

"Many have stated that," Brandon said, remembering all the times people looked down on his deck and on him in the pro league. "All of them have fallen."

"Are you going to participate for the money?"

"Money? As if I need it." And that actually was true, even in the lowest parts of the pro league, where he, and every other duelists that goes pro for the very first time start off in, one could make a lot of money during the pro season. "I'm there for other reasons."

He then pushed himself off the wall with his right foot, preparing to leave. "Eldon has won."

"What are you talking about?" she asked, frowning. "The duel isn't over yet."

"It is. Eldon will win during his next turn," he simply said. "Just wait until that Wyatt guy ends his turn."

The blond then left, probably to join the rest of Your Move.

But Cyber had a feeling she would definitely see him again.

* * *

Eldon examined the field one more time. He still had more life left than Wyatt, but Wyatt had the monster advantage.

Neither had any trap or magic cards in their magic and trap card zone, but Wyatt did have Gear Gigant Cross on the field in attack position.

But Wyatt had just ended his turn, so maybe he could turn things around this turn.

"My turn! Draw!"

He had drawn a magic card. Now the only two cards in his hand were magic cards, but he could actually use this one, especially because of his emtpy field. This was a better thing than to draw a monster. It would either be a dead draw, or it would easily get destroy by Gear Gigant Cross.

"I activate the magic card Hero Arrive!"

"Hero Arrive?"

"By paying half my life, I can special summon one level 4 or lower Elemental Hero from my deck," Eldon explained.

Eldon: 2800 → 1400

"And the monster I special summon is Elemental Hero Airman!"

Elemental Hero Airman, Level 4, 1800/300

"And when he's special summoned or normal summoned, Airman allows me to add one Elemental Hero from my deck to my hand!" Eldon said, one card emerging from his deck. "Then I normal summon Elemental Hero Voltech!"

Elemental Hero Voltech, Level 4, 1000/1500

"Then I activate Fusion, fusing together Airman and Voltech!" Eldon declared, the two monsters disappearing inside a swirling vortex. **"Hurricane that blows away evil! Thunderspark from beyond! Become one to create a new hero! Control the air current and let the powers of our foes be blown away! Fusion Summon! Appear within the eye of the storm! Level 8! Elemental Hero Great Tornado!"**

A cloaked warrior emerged from the whirlpool, a strong wind blowing over the duel field.

Elemental Hero Great Tornado, Level 8, 2800/2200

Gear Gigant Cross: 2300/1500 → 1150/750

"Gear Gigant Cross!?" Wyatt went as he saw that Gear Gigant's attack and defense lowered, while Eldon stood in triumph.

"Elemental Hero Great Tornado halves the attack and defense of each monster you control at the time it's summoned," Eldon explained, pointing his finger at Gear Gigant Cross. "And now it's time to destroy Gear Gigant Cross! Battle phase! I attack Gear Gigant Cross with Elemental Hero Great Tornado!"

Great Tornado created a strong storm in which it disappeared for a short while before throwing his arm forward, the storm enveloping Wyatt's field too, devouring Gear Gigant Cross.

Wyatt: 1600 → 0

**Eldon: WIN**

"And that's another qualification to add to the list," Kate said to herself in triumph.

* * *

"Have you found him?"

"No, sir. We have no trace on his whereabouts."

"Did you notice any strong readings of a certain summoning?"

"We only got a reading about a Fusion summon, but it was just a normal reading."

"I see."

"We shall continue to keep an eye on it and inform you if we think we are onto something."

"When you think you're on to something? I want you to **know** when you're onto it. Everything else doesn't count."

"Got it. When we found the person, what do you want us to do?"

"It doesn't matter. Send out whoever you want, but remember one thing."

"That is, sir?"

"Make sure you bring the person to me. Either dead or alive."

* * *

"So he qualified too?"

Brandon nodded. "Today. Almost effortlessly."

"And we're talking about the Elemental Hero user, right?"

"Yup. That Elemental Hero Great Tornado wasn't very shabby."

Master remained silent for a bit, pondering his thoughts. Then, he spoke up again. "Do you think it's an archetype of the Fusion Dimension?"

"Don't think so," Brandon answered, shaking his head. "Unlike the Frightfurs, the Elemental Heroes don't give off an evil vibe to me. And their Fusion monsters don't look as evil as the Frightfur's."

"We both know that looks can be deceiving, Kanbara."

"I know, I know."

"Talking about looks, how does your perspective at Your Move look?" he asked.

"They don't suspect a thing yet. Actually, the boys see me as their friend," he said. "The girls are still distant, but I'm not there to make friends, anyways."

"Very well."

"How about the research on Pendulum monsters?" Brandon asked on his turn. "Found something?"

"Nothing," Master answered. "But as long as we continue to use Pendulum monsters and continue the research, I'm sure we'll find something."

"I see." The blond turned away to the door, and Master frowned at his action.

"Where are you going?"

"I need to go. The guys invited me for something, so I decided to join in," he answered.

The door opened, and the boy set one foot outside of the room, but Master's voice temporarily stopped him.

"Kanbara. Make sure that you keep them on your side as friends."

"I don't need 'friends', Master," he claimed. "And I don't want them, either."

With setting his second foot outside of the door, the door closed, leaving Master alone in his room.

He simply stared at the door Brandon left through.

He decided he would contact his apprentice again tomorrow.

* * *

**Credits to Ghost83 for coming up with Cyber, and for Elemental Hero Great Tornado's summon chant.**

**Kind of later on the day, than usual, but my social life kind of held me back, but I managed to complete the chapter for you guys.**

**I hope you enjoyed the chapter, and I wish all of you a nice day.**

**See ya!**


	16. Chapter 16

**I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh! Arc-V. I only own my OCs.**

* * *

The barbarian LDS duelists - The Rough House Couple!

* * *

He inspected the board one more time before accepting the helmet, scratching the back of his head. What in the world was the meaning of this all?

"Did I miss out on something?"

"No, you didn't," Kate said. "But we're going to do a team-building activity that does not include dueling."

"Team-building?" the blond repeated. "Why the heck team-building?"

"Because someone here has admitted to not playing that much of a team player," Chris answered, everyone shooting the blond boy a look.

Brandon simply growled. "Fine. And now what do you want me to do with these things?"

He held up the board and helmet, a frown on his face.

"We're going to use it in the park," Kate said. "You guys are going skateboarding."

"Skateboarding?" Brandon muttered.

"That rocks!" James exclaimed, while the other boys agreed.

"Am I really the only one who doesn't want to do this?" Brandon asked, shoulders slumping.

"We don't want this either," Paris said.

"But because of you, we have to," Stephanie accusingly added, glaring at him.

"It actually sounds fun to me," Michelle admitted, Chloe nodding in agreement.

"Let's go then!" Kate said, clasping her hands together.

* * *

The park was as good as empty, especially the skate ramp.

Brandon had hoped it was crowded so much that it would be unable for them to do, in his opinion, stupid activity, but faith was against him.

"Do you guys hear that, too?" James asked, looking around to see if he could see what made the noise.

"You mean that?" Lamar asked, pointing at two people. The two crashed into benches, trees, and everything other unfortunate thing that stood in the way of the two people.

"Are they... fighting?" Daniel asked, not sure if he was right.

"They are!" Riley confirmed.

"We have to make them stop!" Michelle said, and everyone took a step back.

"I'm not going to interfere," James said. "I love my face and I want to keep it."

"But if we don't do it, probably nobody will," Chloe spoke.

Stephanie pushed Brandon in the back, shoving him forward. "Look! Brandon volunteers!"

"What? No! I didn't! You pushed me!" he said, pointing an accusing finger at the girl.

"You're always acting like a tough guy," Paris informed. "So I'm sure of it that you can get those two to stop fighting."

"Fine."

He took a couple of steps forward until he was quite close, beginning to wonder how he could break up a fight without waisting any energy.

But the two fighters came closer, and the blond boy didn't notice.

"Watch out!" Eldon shouted, the boy looking up.

Brandon tried to jump to the side, but they were to close for that, involuntarily dragging him into their fight.

"Ouch! Oof! STOP THAT!"

Hearing shouts, the two stopped their fight, finding out that a blond boy had been mixed up into their fight.

Brandon fell on his butt, clutching his gut, in which he got a punch into. "Ouch!" He had already taken a kick to his rear when he got caught up in the fight, and the fall on his butt made it even more painful.

And as if a punch in the gut and the kick to his rear wasn't enough yet, than the black eye surely was.

He simply growled as the two fighters, a boy and a girl, looked at him.

"I so have the tendency to curse now."

"Sorry about that!" the boy apologized. "We were just sparring with each other."

"Are you alright?" the girl asked. "We didn't meant for you to get caught up into our little spar."

The boy extended his hand, but the blond simply stood up, slapping away the hand with a glare. "Stay away from me, barbarians."

"They're not really barbarians," Emily corrected. "They are the Rough House Couple!"

"That's right!" the boy confirmed, pointing his thumb at himself. "I'm Vlance!"

Vlance was a boy with black hair and blue eyes and he wore a grey t-shirt, jeans, and combat boots. Around his waist was a black jacket tied like a belt.

"And I'm Viola," the girl introduced.

Viola had, just like Emily, blue eyes and blonde hair. She wore a horizontally striped red and green shirt, jeans, and shoes with a button on it.

A thing they both had were a couple of scrapes and bandages here and there, giving both of them some kind of though look in a way.

"But why exactly were you guys sparring?" Riley asked.

"We are already qualified for the tournament," Vlance began.

"So we were sparring to pass some time," Viola finished. She then looked at Brandon, gesturing to him. "And well, then he got hurt."

The boy simply growled in response, a glare accompanying the growl.

"But to make it up, we'll go to my favorite place!" Vlance said. "Drinks are on me!"

Everyone agreed and Brandon growled again. Those people were too nice for their own good.

And for him it meant he needed to hang out with the barbarians.

And that wasn't good for his own good.

* * *

"Well, to be honest, we're not really in there for the money or fame."

The conversation had quickly changed towards the topic of the tournament that was about to come up. And well, Vlance pretty much said why they were in it, compared to the vast majority of participants.

"We're just in it for the strong opponents," Viola added.

"You do realize that you can't enter as a couple, right?" Emily asked. "I mean, seeing your skills as a couple and such, it's a bit of a shame."

"Every couple is different," Viola answered, shrugging before taking a sip of her soda.

Everyone shot each other a look. Nobody at Your Move was a couple, so how would they know if that was true. It did sound logical, though.

Vlance nodded. "Even though we're a couple, we come from LDS branches all over the world."

_LDS? _Brandon repeated inwardly, overhearing the conversation at the other table where everyone else was at. _LDS has these barbarians as students?!_

"From which LDS do you guys come?" James asked.

"America," Vlance said, pointing his thumb at himself.

"France," Viola answered.

The girls all swooned simultaneously.

"That's just a perfect love story!" Chloe said, even though she and the others didn't knew the details.

Vlance simply blinked, standing up from his seat. "Is there anyone willing to duel me?"

"Actually," Kate began, "We came here for some team-building, dueling is very individual, so I'm afraid we have to decline that offer."

"We understand," Viola said. "Well, good luck when one of you needs to face me or Vlance."

Viola stood up too, bidding their farewells to the group.

Before Vlance stepped through the door he turned around, grinning widely. "Now, you should exercise before you duel me in the tournament!"

"Exercise?" they all repeated, after which Eldon shrugged. "Logical. I mean, look at the way they are."

Vlance then stretched, something coming to his mind. "How about showing you guys how we practice before duels?"

Seeing how the pair called the 'Rough House Couple', that was also quite renowned, practiced for duels sounded pretty interesting. Maybe they could learn something from it.

"I think that's a good plan," Chris admitted.

"An Action Duel or a normal one?" Viola asked. "Because we have different training methods for both."

"Action, please!" Everyone answered in unison, at which Viola and Vlance nodded.

"We'll have to go to our usual training spot for that," Vlance said, turning towards the door. "Follow me!"

* * *

Vlance led them to an abandoned construction site, beginning to explain.

"Now, this is how it will go," he began. "And pay attention, because from this point, things will get a little bit complex."

They both took out random deck, scattering the cards about the place, making everyone frown.

"During our duel, we will race to build up our deck," Viola said. "The maximum hand limit is 6. When we reach 7, the seventh card will be placed in our deck. When we come across the eighth, we place it on top of the deck. Just like with card number 9 and up."

"Also, the draw phase is optional, but then the drawing player has to return two cards from their hand into their deck," Vlance added. "And when there are no cards in the deck, we must use the cards in our graveyard as deck and shuffle it."

"So how about we demonstrate it to you?" Viola proposed, taking out her Duel Disk.

Kate then noticed something. One of them was missing. And it was the one who had distanced himself at that American place.

"Where is Brandon?"

Everyone then noticed that he didn't tag along with them.

* * *

The boy looked up from his, now empty, vanilla milkshake.

He frowned slightly. Everyone was there during that one moment he actually payed attention when he heard Vlance saying they were from LDS, before his undivided fell back on his milkshake again. And now, even though he didn't know how much later it was, they were gone.

"Where is everyone?" He looked around, and looked specifically at the table they had been at, but there was no one. Not even the slightest trace. He simply shrugged and stood up.

He hid his hands in the pockets of his red bodywarmer, heading home.

"They really have to stop forcing me into these stupid things."

* * *

"What's his address?"

Everyone looked at each other, no one actually had his address. Even Kate, who was in charge of Your Move, didn't have that, while it was a normal case to have it.

"Actually, I have it," Emily said, quickly writing it down on a piece of paper and giving it to Viola.

"Alright. See you in a bit!" she said, pushing the button on her shoes, rollerblades emerging from the sole. She then skated off, leaving everyone slightly flabbergasted.

"I want those shoes," Lamar declared.

"Let's just hope she manages to bring Brandon here," Michelle said, because they all knew how the boy could be.

* * *

Brandon's attention was taken away from the television when he heard a knock on the door. Standing up from the sofa, he walked to the door, slowly opening it.

On the other side stood Viola, and Brandon sighed. "Great. A barbarian at my door."

He immediately slammed the door shut afterwards. The 'barbarians' had hurt him more than enough for a day and whatever they would be being at his door for would probably not interest him, anyways.

"I'm offering you front row seats to see how Vlance and I train!" she shouted.

"I don't even have the slightest bit of interest in that," he said, shrugging before walking away from the door. "And lower your voice. This isn't the jungle."

"It's at an abandoned construction site," she informed, hoping to draw his attention with that.

"I don't care what it is," Brandon answered, stopping in the hallway.

Viola sighed and proceeded to rollerblade away, but she needed to do something else first.

Brandon had begun to walk away from the door again. He had only taken three steps before the door splintered and broke. He simply looked back to see what happened.

In the doorframe stood Viola with a balled fist; the one she had used to punch the door down.

She pointed an accusing finger at him, complaining. "Coward!" She then turned away and simply rollerbladed away.

Brandon shrugged at what happened, looking at the destroyed door.

"I didn't like the color of that door, anyways."

* * *

Viola had quickly returned, but, to the expectation of some of them, without the blond boy.

Right now, they were witnessing Vlance and Viola run all over the place to gather their deck, dueling while doing so.

They saw Vlance leap up two stories high while Viola raced from the top to the bottom, without even falling, in a couple of seconds.

James watched in amazement. The speed they raced around with, the swiftness they collected Action Card, the energy they had to keep it all up.

He began to understand Brandon's training now, the others clapped for them.

Vlance then performed a move that would usually result in a One Turn Kill with three Rhinotaurus, his life really dropping to 0, but instead of losing, nothing happened.

"There is one rule that keeps us in," Viola began when she noticed everyone's confused. "This custom duel only ends after we have no cards left in our hands and decks."

"Why can't we implement something like that in a normal duel?" Lamar wondered.

"There would be too many ties if we did," Emily answered.

"It's just strategically," Vlance said. "So we can get Action Cards quickly and make split-second decisions."

Quick decisions? Getting Action Cards quickly? So that was what Brandon's training was about. He was preparing James for an Action Duel.

"I understand now..." he muttered under his breath.

He took out the Duel Disk, quickly searching for the blond's contact. He brought the main body of the Duel Disk to his ear, waiting for the blond to pick up.

"What is it?"

"Thanks, man!" James said, at which Brandon frowned. What exactly was James thanking him for?

"You have to come and join us!" urged James. "This is something you can't miss out on."

Brandon heard the voices of Vlance, Viola, and the others, and his mind was quickly made up after that.

"No interest."

And then he hung up.

Vlance and Viola remained silent for a couple of seconds, looking at each other before looking straight ahead again. "Wuss."

"Call him again," Eldon said, at which James nodded and called him again.

"Come on, man! You have to come!" James told the blond, at which the latter sighed.

"You will continue to bother me if I reject, won't you?" Brandon asked.

"Yup."

"Fine then. I'm on my way."

* * *

"For real?"

James had explained the rules as soon as Brandon arrived at the construction site and the blond's right eye began to twitch a bit.

"I already regret coming here," muttered Brandon.

Upon hearing that, Vlance swung onto a chain by his foot, looking down upon the blond boy.

"Look at me, I'm Brandon! I'm the best in my Duel School, use dragons, and yet I'm afraid of heights!" Vlance mocked at which the blond only smirked.

"Very mature," Brandon stated.

Viola, who was also up god knows where, shot Vlance a quick look before they nodded, performing a backflip simultaneously. ""The demo is over!""

Everyone, except Brandon, clapped. What Vlance and Viola had displayed was certainly amazing.

"Thank you for showing us," Kate thanked, bowing. "But we have to leave right now."

"No problem!" Vlance assured. "We'll probably see you guys around during the tournament!"

"It was nice to meet you," Viola quickly added, waving them goodbye.

Brandon growled while walking back to the park. Not only had people forced him out of his house for something he didn't want to do, everything finished right after he came. The fact that Vlance tried to shake his hand before they all left, made things even worse.

"Darn those barbarians..."

* * *

**Credits for coming up with Vlance, Viola, and the custom duel go to Ghost83.**

**I hope you enjoyed this chapter and I wish all of you a nice day.**

**See ya!**


	17. Chapter 17

**I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh! Arc-V. I only own my OCs.**

* * *

**At Guest: I already included a character with the Frightfurs, so don't worry about that!**

* * *

"I tune my level 4 Breaker the Magical Warrior with my level 2 Magical Ficialist!" James declared, starting the whole Synchro process.** "This battle is nearing its end! Synchro Summon! Take on the powers of the reaper, Level 6, Magic Tempester!"**

In front of James now stood a black-haired woman dressed in a blue robe, holding a large scythe while two small bats flew around her.

Magic Tempester, Level 6, 2200/1400

"That monster isn't strong enough to beat Ghoul's Slave!" his opponent stated, confidently grinning. "Just give up already!"

"When Magic Tempester is Synchro summoned, she gains one Spell Counter," James explained, ignoring his opponent. "And I also activate her second effect! By discarding all three cards in my hand, I can place 3 Spell Counters on her!"

Magic Tempester: Spell Counters: 0 → 4

"Furthermore, by removing all the Spell Counters on the field, I can deal 500 points of damage to you for each Counter removed!" James said, pointing at his opponent.

"Wait, what?!"

Magic Tempester: Spell Counters: 4 → 0

Magic Tempester's scythe began to glow, as she raised it into the air. The bats flattered around frantically, searching for a place to hide.

"It's time to take 2000 points of damage!" James informed. "Go, Magic Tempester!"

Magic Tempester unleashed two energy beams from her scythe, pearcing through Ghoul's Slave, straight at the opponent's life.

?: 1700 → 0

**James: WIN**

Brandon quickly escaped the Duel School they were at, trying to escape for the small festivities that Kate would probably have planned as celebration for having another of their duelists placed. It was something he definitely didn't want to be present at.

But he wouldn't leave before clapping. James ran his deck better than Brandon expected, and that deserved some credit, especially because James had the deck for not too long.

He quickly left after that.

Luckily for him, he was quite good at sneaking away.

* * *

"Yo! You're late!"

"I know."

Brandon joined up with Kai and some other Hyper Rank duelists in the park, sitting down on the bench with a sigh. "They made me come to one of their qualifiers again."

"You're actually taking orders from others?" one of the Hyper Rank duelists asked, quite amazed at that. "Talk about a turn of things..."

"I have to. Temporarily at least," the blond clarified. "Only then I can return to All-Star Trinity again."

"Anyways," Kai began, "will you be joining us tomorrow too?"

"Tomorrow?" the blond repeated. "I can't. I need to be at Your Move then."

"Really?" another person spoke. "I mean no offense, Emperor, but I'm sure you can skip those duties there once in a while. They're not that good of a Duel School."

"I know that. But Master entrusted me with this mission. Failure is not an option," Brandon said.

"But it's not failure!" Kai said. "You're just taking a short break!"

"And that's why you are still in Hyper Rank," Brandon deadpanned. "You see everything as a 'short break'..."

"Doesn't matter! I'm happy at Hyper Rank!" Kai stated. "And that's not true! I'm a Master Rank duelist now!"

"Just temporarily," Brandon corrected.

"Still a Master Rank duelist."

"Whatever."

"So how about it?" Kai asked. "Going to take a break tomorrow?"

The blond remained silent for a short while. Taking a short break from the people at Your Move sounded good, but he was there because of the mission Master had given him. If Master knew he would neglect his mission even the smallest bit, he would definitely not be happy.

Besides, the faster he was done, the faster he could return to All-Star Trinity. He wanted that as fast as possible.

But tomorrow were qualifiers again, and he would miss out on those if he didn't turn up, which would be a big plus.

"What's wrong?" one of the Hyper Rank's asked. "Do you need to think so long about it because you actually like it there?"

"Liking it there? As if," Brandon huffed.

"Then surely you can join us!"

"I can and I will."

* * *

"Say, Master. Why have you chosen Your Move Duel School?"

Master frowned at his apprentice. Brandon's expression remained the same.

Before going home, Brandon actually wanted to know one more thing. Something that he had meant to ask countless of times before, but somehow he forgot or just shrugged it off, telling himself that "Master probably has his reasons."

"Why I chose Your Move?" Master asked, smiling. "I have my reasons for that."

"And I want to know them," Brandon said, taking a stand from his kneeling position. "I have been sent on a mission and I don't even know why exactly there."

"Like I said, destroy them from the inside."

"I know that, but why them? There are countless of other Duel Schools who pose more of a threat," Brandon informed.

"I just saw some hidden potential in them," Master answered.

"Then you have to give me your eyes, because I don't see it," Brandon muttered.

"Or you just don't want to see it," Master countered.

"What's that supossed to mean?" the blond asked, scowling.

"Nothing," Master shrugged. "Not yet, at least."

"I don't have time for this," Brandon sighed, turning towards the door. "I'm going home."

"That's fine."

"By the way, I'm taking the day off tomorrow," Brandon said. "Just so you know."

"That's fine too."

Brandon didn't react, but he honestly wouldn't expect it would go that easy. "What? No scolding? No buts? No nothing?"

"No nothing," Master confirmed, giving him a quick nod.

Brandon shrugged, setting his feet outside the door. "Whatever."

Master simply let out an amused chuckle.

* * *

"Where's Brandon?"

Everyone looked around once more, not noticing a sign of presence of the blond.

"He wasn't here yesterday either," James pointed out.

"And Kate thought she had him 'tamed'," Stephanie jeered.

"He isn't an animal," Emily informed. "Taming him was already impossible in the first place."

"Still. He can at least try to behave like a normal human," Paris said. "That means living by the rules of S-Rank, and not by his own rules."

"Could someone contact him, please?" Michelle asked. "It's the best if he will come too."

Emily's Duel Disk let out a short beep after Michelle's words. She took out the main body of the Duel Disk, discovering someone had messaged her. With a swift movement of her finger, she opened the message, enabling her to read it.

_From: Kanbara, Brandon_

_To: Beaton, Emily_

_Can't make it today. Got in trouble at school. If you could inform Kate of this, I would appreciate it._

_\- Brandon._

Emily looked up from the screen, putting away the Duel Disk as she began to speak. "He got in trouble at school. He won't be here today."

"Trouble?" Eldon asked. "What kind of trouble?"

"He didn't say what kind of trouble," Emily answered.

"I guess we have to go without him then..." Michelle guessed. "I'll tell Kate we're all ready to go and inform them of Brandon."

To say Kate was not happy with Brandon was an understatement.

* * *

"Are you sure it's fine for you to hang out with us now?"

Brandon shot Kai another look, one eyebrow raised. "It was your idea to take a short break in the first place."

"I know. But you should know by now that you shouldn't always listen to me," Kai reminded his friend.

"I know. But Master was fine with it, so it isn't that much of a problem."

"Master agreed?" Kai stopped walking for a moment, staring at the blond, who nodded. "I certainly didn't expect that."

"Me neither."

Kai started walking again, catching up with Brandon, who hadn't stopped when Kai stopped.

"But are you sure it's fine?" Kai asked, just to be sure. "I mean, I don't want you to get in trouble with that other Duel School."

"It's already settled. Told them that I got in trouble at school and that I wouldn't make it because of that," Brandon said, then shooting Kai a glare. "And don't worry about the trouble stuff. You got us into trouble at school today and practically almost every other day."

While the part of him getting in trouble at school was true, it wasn't entirely his fault. Kai and his antics were, once again, to blame for that.

But it actually wasn't that bad that they needed to stay at school longer or something else. The only thing it earned them was a heavy scolding. Again.

But nobody at Your Move knew that, so he could easily exaggerate about it.

"Me? Remember that one time with that bully?" Kai asked, the blond started to think.

"I remember that guy," Brandon admitted, not really sure where Kai was going.

"You dueled the living daylights out of that guy!" Kai went. "The guy was so afraid he moved away and switched schools. Twice!"

"Fine. I get us in trouble quite often, too," Brandon admitted, his face adopting an annoyed look. "But it's not my fault he couldn't handle the Dragon Rulers."

"Nobo—"

"Hey, you two!"

The two boys turned around to face the owner of the voice, finding three oddly dressed men in front of them.

"Is it halloween already?" Kai asked, frowning.

"What is it?" Brandon asked, keeping his guard up. People dressed as odd as the three in front of them surely couldn't be trusted.

The middle of the three handed them a paper, on it the pictures of two people. "We're searching for these two. We were wondering if you had seen them?"

Brandon accepted the paper, taking a look at the two pictures. His eyes widened a bit when he saw who were depicted.

Jason and Xandon.

He eyed the three men, two of them conversing about something while constantly glancing at him.

"He looks exactly like him," he could hear one say.

"But it isn't him. He has blond hair. And the only black thing he wears is his v-neck," the other answered.

Brandon looked back at the picture, shaking his head. "I'm sorry. I haven't seen them. Why are you actually looking for them?"

The one who handed him the paper seemed a bit taken back by Brandon's question, but he answered nonetheless. "They're friends of ours, but we haven't heard from them for three days."

"I see. Mind if I take this with me?" He held up the paper, while Kai tried to see what was on it.

"I suppose you can. Please contact us if you've seen them," the man said, Brandon giving him a nod.

The three men then left in the opposite direction of them, Brandon's narrowed eyes following every step. Eventually they were out of his sight, and he turned to Kai.

"What's on it?" Kai asked, pointing at the paper.

Brandon looked at the paper once again, Kai taking a peek too.

"Hey, aren't those two members of Resistance?" Kai asked.

"They are," Brandon confirmed. "And it seems someone is onto them."

"What are we going to do now?"

"I'm going to inform Master right away. The faster we handle, the better."

Kai nodded. "I'm coming with you!"

Brandon nodded, and the two ran off to All-Star Trinity as fast as they could.

* * *

"What did you find?"

"Nothing."

"Nothing. No one had seen them. No one knew who they were."

"Or you didn't search hard enough."

"Maybe they're not there?"

"They are. Standard is the only place where they can be. They are just very good in hiding it seems."

"Well, we did find something. But nothing at the same time."

"What are you talking about?"

"There was someone who looked like one of the two. But his appearance was totally different."

"Is that so?"

"Yes. But he also claimed not to have seen the two. It's just pure coincidence that he looks like one of them."

"I see. You're dismissed."

The door shut close after a couple of seconds, and the man was the only inhabitant of the room because of that.

"It seems everything is going better than I expected."

* * *

Kai and Brandon had explained the situation to Master and he had proceeded to call in Jason and Xandon.

The door opened, the two boys walking into the room.

"You called us?" Xandon asked, noticing the two other persons in the room. "Oh, you're here too. Hello, Brandon, Kai."

"Yo! Xandon!" Kai greeted back, while Brandon simply gave a nod.

"Can we get to business please?" Jason asked, shaking his head at Xandon's too friendly demeanor towards everyone.

"I called the two of you for one simple reason," Master began.

"And that reason is?" Jason asked.

"It seems the two of you are wanted by people," Master replied.

"Wanted?" Xandon repeated. "By who?"

"Three men dressed in blue and they had white pants," Kai answered.

"And they all wore a strange mask," Brandon added, showing both the paper. "They gave us this paper with your pictures on it."

Jason scowled, growling at his answer. "This is bad. This is really bad. That scum is on our tails!"

Xandon nodded, a worried look on his face.

"You know those guys?" Kai asked, getting closer to Jason. "Tell us. Who are they? And why are they searching for you? And more importantly, why are they dressed so weird!?"

Brandon and Master patiently waited for Jason to continue, and for Kai to stop his nonsense, even though it took some longer for Jason to speak than they had hoped.

"Those three who gave you that..."

Jason paused for a short moment, eyes narrowing before he spoke again.

"...They are the Obelisk Force."

* * *

**I hope you enjoyed this chapter and I wish all of you a nice day.**

**See ya!**


	18. Chapter 18

**I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh Arc-V. I only own my OCs.**

* * *

The rebellious team - Shane, Xandon and Brandon!

* * *

"Obelisk Force?" Kai repeated, beginning to snicker. "Well, that's a stupid name."

Brandon punched his shoulder, stopping Kai's snickering. "Now's not the time."

Kai rubbed his shoulder, shooting the blond a grin. "Sorry."

"This 'Obelisk Force'..." Master spoke up. "Why are they here?"

"It seems they found us and will actively hunt for us," Jason replied, scowling. "And I won't accept that. I'm going and will lure them out right now!"

Jason stomped away, but Brandon managed to get a hold of his arm, stopping him. "I'm afraid I can't let you do that, Shane."

"Shane?" Kai repeated. "Wasn't his name Jason?"

"Jason is the fake name he took so he would be harder to find," Xandon explained.

"Unlike someone who kept his real name..." Shane muttered, quickly shooting Xandon a glance, who waved his hands in front of himself in an apologetic manner.

"They didn't mention your names, so they probably don't know those," Brandon guessed. "So that's not how they knew you were here."

"But Master, how are we going to fix this?" Kai asked. "I mean, when people know they're at All-Star Trinity, the whole Duel School will be in danger."

"First of all, we have to make sure we don't lure them out." Master threw a look at Shane. "That goes for you especially. Actually, that only goes for you."

"I'll try, but I can't promise anything," Shane huffed.

"Second of all, you need to be careful at all times, Xandon," Master continued. "However, I shall acknowledge that it's very hard to keep a close eye on you."

"Allow me to take care of him, Master," Brandon said, taking a step forward. "He can crash at my place for as long as possible."

"That's good to hear," Master answered, but he still had a feeling of confusion at Brandon's sudden proposal. Was the blond planning something? And if he was, what would he be planning? "I will leave Xandon to you then."

Brandon smirked, making a quick bow before Master. Xandon did the same.

"Thank you, Master," they both said in unison, as they both stared at each other in confusion for a short while after that. They however quickly shrugged it off and Brandon shot Xandon a smirk, while the latter shot the former a smile.

"You are all dismissed," Master informed. "I will let you know when I need you."

* * *

"I direct attack with Daigusta Eguls!"

With a flap of its mighty wings, Eguls managed to wip up a storm that raged over duel field, heading straight for the opponent.

?: 1400 → 0

**Riley: WIN**

Riley heaved a sigh of relief. Now that she was finally qualified, there was no pressure anymore and she didn't have anything to be deadly anxious about.

Even though she would have wished Brandon was present to see how she Synchro summoned her way through, but she guessed some things just couldn't be helped.

Emily clapped the loudest out of all the Your Move members. Never before had she been so proud of someone else, and even though she and Riley hadn't reconciled yet, just like she hadn't done with the rest of Your Move despite being at speaking terms with them again, she still felt happy for her.

But she wondered if Brandon would be filled with pride too if he saw Riley use Synchro summon the way he taught her to.

* * *

"Obelisk Force..."

Shane scowled once again. The name still left a bad taste in his mouth.

Never would he forget that one day, and never would he forgive them for that one day. The things he had seen that day still haunted him and would continue to do so until he would have brought an end to the Obelisk Force.

But as much as he would like to, he would never be able to do it on his own. He had tried once, and if it wasn't for Xandon who interfered, things would have probably ended bad for him too.

But back then they were with many, and from what he heard from Kai and Brandon, they were just with three. That meant that there was a chance.

However, there still were Master's orders. As an All-Star Trinity student (even though it's just a cover), Master's orders are absolute. If one dared to go in against those orders, bad things would happen.

But there was only one student who could go in against those orders without anything happening. If Shane managed to convince that guy, he could go and confront the Obelisk Force without sanctions following.

"Kanbara. It's me, Shane."

_"No. I won't help you, Shane."_

Shane's lips parted for a small moment. How did Brandon know what he wanted to ask?

"You don't even know why I'm contacting you."

_"You want me to convince Master to let you go after the Obelisk Force and defeat them."_

"Why won't you help me with that?"

_"Because Academia would see it as a first strike from our side. That would give them an excuse to attack us. We will have to less time to prepare properly if that happens."_

"But we have to handle quickly! What if they attack this dimension earlier than expected!?"

"_Calm down. We already have a plan if that happens. Just make sure you don't give them a reason to attack us. That includes bombarding their Obelisk Force."_

"But—"

_"I'm not going to discuss with you any further, Shane. Just accept it and wait until you get new orders from Master."_

Shane noticed that Brandon had hung up on him, and thus he put away his Duel Disk's main body.

A low growl escaped him. While he wanted to defeat the Obelisk Force, he didn't have the autorithy to. And now that Brandon was unwilling to help him, he was on his own.

But he had his mind made up already, so what did it even matter?

* * *

"Who was that?"

Xandon looked at Brandon with a questioning gaze. He had heard terms like 'Academia', 'attack', and 'Obelisk Force'. All that combined made him quite eager to know who it was.

"Shane. I already said his name twice, but I guess you were off to dreamland," Brandon joked.

"What was it about?" Xandon asked.

"He wanted me to help him so he could attack Obelisk Force," Brandon answered. "But that's not happening, so don't worry."

Xandon stopped walking when he noticed that Brandon had stopped in front of something: a house, to be exact.

"That's where you live?" he asked, looking at the house.

Brandon nodded, opening the front door. "Oh, and if my mother asks who you are, you are one of the exchange students of All-Star Trinity's exchange programme."

"Got it."

"Mom. I'm home."

"Welcome back! How was school?"

The two entered the living room, plopping down on the sofa. "As normal. Kai got us in trouble again."

His mother then entered the room with some food, noticing a familiar, yet unfamiliar face on the sofa.

"Who's that?" she asked, looking at Xandon. "A friend of yours?"

"This is Xandon," Brandon introduced. "He's part of the All-Star Trinity exchange programme. I told him that he could stay here for the time being. I hope that's fine?"

"Oh, that's fine. There's enough room for him," she answered, flashing a smile. "Welcome, Xandon. Make yourself at home here."

Xandon stood up from the sofa, making a quick bow. "Thank you very much."

"I'll show him his room." Brandon stood up from the sofa, heading out of the living room.

Xandon followed, not paying attention to anything else.

"Oh, by the way, be careful you—"

Xandon fell on the ground with a loud thud, faceplanting the floor.

"—don't trip over the dog."

* * *

"President, I assume you have heard already?"

"Of course."

"What are we going to do about it?"

"First of all, we need to make sure the media doesn't hear about this."

"Why not?"

Leonardo shot his employee a quick look, the look asking if he was stupid or something.

"Because the media will cause a lot of turmoil among the citizens if they hear this. And this is something the rest of Maiami City doesn't need to know about."

"I understand. I will make sure that won't happen."

"Also, Johnson, could you contact All-Star Trinity for me and ask them if they could come to LDS as soon as possible?" Leonardo asked. "Tell them that it is very important."

"Will do, President. Anything else?"

"Yeah, make sure that Brandon Kanbara and the Resistance members come along," Leonardo said.

"Got it."

* * *

"Yo, Riley!"

James plopped down in the empty seat next to her in the van, a content smile on his face.

"James."

It remained silent between the two for a while, and that allowed them to hear Eldon's failure once again.

"No, Eldon. I won't go out with you."

Riley wondered why Eldon still tried despite all the "nos" that always flew his way. He surely wasn't one to give up.

James did nothing, except looking at Riley with a stupid smile. It quickly began to annoy the brunette.

"What are you doing?" she finally asked, even though it was pretty clear that a stupid answer would follow.

"Nothing," he answered, his smile changing in a grin. "Just sitting here."

"Aha..."

"You're duel was amazing, by the way," he complimented. "That Synchro summon was breathtaking!"

Riley blushed slightly at the compliment. Were there really people who thought her Synchro summon was that good?

"Thank you. But, honestly, it wasn't that good..."

"Come on, don't be shy!" James went in response. "It was really good!"

"If you say so..." she muttered, shyly smiling.

Despite the annoyance Eldon gave her, Emily still smiled. For once James wasn't being the normal, moronic James, but a normal human being, and him and Riley seemed to hit it off.

Now if only she could get rid of Eldon...

* * *

"Well, I have to admit, you have one hell of an office."

Brandon looked out of the window, watching over Maiami City, hands hidden in the pockets of his jeans.

"And the view isn't half that bad either," he added, smirking.

"While I acknowledge that, I must inform you of the fact that that window is not the reason you're here," Leonardo informed, but the blond's smirk didn't fade. Instead, he turned around so he could see the rest of the interior, leaning back against the glass with his arms crossed.

"Now, why exactly did I need to be here?" he asked. "And why did I need to take Xandon and Shane with me?"

"Because something... 'strange' happened," Leonardo instantly answered, eyes narrowing.

"And what exactly is that 'strange' thing that happened?" Shane asked, not pleased with the fact that he needed to go to LDS to. He had some business to do, and all this talk only prevented him from doing that.

"Last night, and early this morning, certain duelists have been defeated," Leonardo replied, while Xandon and Shane shared a glance.

"But... doesn't that happen very often in duels...?" Xandon went, not really sure if Leonardo was joking or being deadly serious.

"It is. However, these duelists weren't 'just' defeated," Leonardo said. "Instead, they got sealed into cards."

"Sealed into cards?" Shane repeated, growling. "That sounds like somethign Obelisk Force would do. Damn that Academia scum...!"

"Say, you wouldn't happen to know something about the Obelisk Force physically assaulting their opponents, would you?" Leonardo wondered.

Xandon didn't answer, instead he seemed to be quite captivated by Leonardo's red scarf for some reason, not taking his eyes off it.

"Not that I know of." Shane shook his head. "Why?"

"Because with the cards were loose limbs," Leonardo revealed, as Xandon and Shane looked shock, while Brandon's right eye popped open.

"Loose limbs...?" Xandon repeated. "Well, that doesn't mean anything. They could be fake... And who says they belong to those duelists?"

"I do," Leonardo said, eyes narrowing. "The people sealed into cards are depicted with only one arm, while the other laid on the ground next to the card."

"Now what?" Brandon asked. "You want us to tape their arms back?"

"Wasn't that impossible?" Xandon asked, looking at his blond counterpart. He then changed his attention to Leonardo. "They were sealed into cards, right?"

Leonardo nodded, and answered Brandon's question. "I don't want you do that. Instead, I want the three of you do something about it."

"You want us to defeat the Obelisk Force, find out why they do what they are doing, and card them?" Brandon guessed, earning him a smirk from Leonardo.

"You're catching on quick, Kanbara."

The blond simply smirked, shrugging. "It was the thing that made the most sense I guess."

"I have one quick question," Xandon informed, raising his hand. "How exactly did those limbs end up there? Where they bitten off or something?"

Leonardo shook his head. "From what the medical team could see, they seemed to be cut off. Presumingly by a Duel Monster."

"By a Duel Monster?" Brandon asked, frowning. "Is that even possible with the solid vision?"

"It is. For Academia it is," Shane answered. "Just like Xandon and I, Academia is able to inflict real damage. And it seems they use that to their full extent for cruel things."

"I see." Brandon pushed himself off the window, joining up with Shane and Xandon in front of Leonardo's desk. "The way Academia are hurting innocent people like that... I won't allow that. Count me in."

"Me too. I won't let them continue here with the things they've done to our home!" Xandon exclaimed, balling his fist.

"Academia..." Shane growled, eyes full of hatred narrowing. "I still have a score to settle with them. I shall defeat them. For the sake of our fallen comrades!"

"It's great to hear that the three of you are in," Leonardo admitted. "I will still have some LDS students help out if it's necessary, but I'm sure of it that you can handle it on your own."

"Why are they even cutting off limbs?" Xandon wondered, completely changing the topic back to the previous one.

"That's up to the three of you to find out," Leonardo answered, looking at them. "All of the duelists that have been targeted were either clothed in black or dark colors like dark blue, or they were Xyz users."

"So they really are actively hunting for us..." Shane connected, balling his fist and gritting his teeth. "Even here..."

"But of course, because the two of you are who they are searching, and nobody needs to know about this accident, the three of you can not prevent them like that." Leonardo examined all three of them, and while Xandon and Shane wouldn't really draw too much attention in a dark ally because of their dark clothing, Brandon certainly would with his red bodywarmer. "So you will have to hide your faces and your clothes. Or well, Kanbara at least needs to wear something darker. The bodywarmer draws too much attention with its color."

"So we should wear masks or something?" Xandon asked, tilting his head to the side.

"No way in hell I will wear a mask," Brandon growled, quickly dismissing that option. "We'll be wearing cloaks."

"Cloaks?" Xandon repeated.

"Why cloaks?" Shane asked.

"Because they're easy to wear, have hoods which can conceal our faces, they conceal our clothing and they look cool," Brandon explained. "That way, they won't be able to guess who we are through our clothing and our facial features."

"Sounds good," Xandon agreed, nodding.

"They won't even be able to hunt us down after I'm done with them," Shane scowled, while Brandon simply smirked.

"That's settled then," he started. "Xandon, Shane, and I..."

The blond looked Leonardo straight in the eye, a confident look cemented in his crimson orbs, a smirk accompanying it.

"We'll buck wild on the Obelisk Force!"

* * *

**First of all, I have no idea what the correct plural of 'No' is. According to what I've read, both 'Nos' and 'Noes' are correct. If someone could confirm this, or tell me what the correct plural is, I would appreciate that.**

**I hope you enjoyed this chapter and I wish you a nice day.**

**See ya!**


	19. Chapter 19

**I don't own Yu-gi-oh! Arc-v. I only own my OCs.**

* * *

The three shadows of rebellion!

* * *

"Are you sure it's safe to stay on this roof?"

Xandon looked down once again, trying to estimate the height from roof to ground.

"Where else do you want to stay?" Brandon asked. "The roof is the only place we will be unnoticed by the Obelisk Force around this time."

"How are we even supossed to know where the Obelisk Force are if we stay here?" Shane growled, shooting the blond a look. "If we search for them, we'll find them much faster."

"As I first said: searching for them and attacking them will be seen as a first strike from our side. We can't let that happen," Brandon explained. "We need them to attack someone else first. Only then we can interfere and attack them."

"That still doesn't answer why we're here," Xandon interrupted, earning a sigh from Brandon.

"Did you even pay attention to what Leonardo had said?" Xandon and Shane both shook their head, earning another sigh. "There are cameras all over the city. He would monitor the situation and inform us of their location after they are found."

At that moment, Brandon's Duel Disk began to beep, the ID of the caller being displayed on the screen.

"Speak of the devil," he quickly muttered before accepting the call. "Kanbara here."

_"The Obelisk Force are in an allyway close to the park. I'm sure you'll find it with ease."_

"I already know what allyway you mean. We're on it," Brandon said.

_"Good. I'm counting on you."_

Both hung up and Brandon put away his Duel Disk's main body, turning to Xandon and Shane.

"They are in an allyway close to the park. I know the way, so you can just follow me," Brandon said, pulling the hood of his cloak over his head.

Shane and Xandon did the same, Shane however, seemed quite discontent with it.

"Why do I even need to wear the dark blue cloak?" he asked, eyes narrowing. "I wanted the black one."

"Because Xandon is already fully clothed in black," Brandon answered, sighing. "Besides, your jacket is already dark blue, so why does the color of the cloak even matter? It fits in well with the jacket."

"That doesn't mean I wanted the dark blue one," Shane protested.

Brandon sighed once again, taking a step forward. "Let's just go. We have to make it quick. Otherwise, Obelisk Force will be gone already."

At the name 'Obelisk Force' Shane quickly forgot about the cloak, focusing only on beating the Obelisk Force. "Let's go."

"I'm ready," Xandon informed.

"And Shane, remember: no killing, only carding. Got that?"

"Yeah, yeah, whatever." Shane rolled his eyes.

Brandon simply nodded, leaping onto another roof, Xandon and Shane following.

* * *

"G-go away from me!"

The boy took a couple of steps back, the Obelisk Force taking three steps forward.

"No chance, Xyz remnant!"

"B-but I'm no Xyz remnant!" the boy protested. "I have no idea what you're talking about!"

"Even if you don't, you're still an Xyz user!" one of the three said. "So you surely know about the remnants!"

"I already told you that I don't!"

"Still lying, eh? Let's see if you can still hold back the truth after this," the Obelisk Force said, summoning a monster. "Antique Gear Hound Dog, attack!"

The boy's eyes widened as Hound Dog lunged for him, ready to bite his arm or whatever else it could sink its teeth in.

"Spiral Strike Burst!"

Hound Dog perished away inside of the fire, as the boy looked up to where the attack came from.

On a roof were three cloaked figures; one in a black cloak, one in a dark blue one, and one in a beige cloak with slighty ragged edges. The monster that fired the attack was long gone.

"Who the hell are you?"

"That doesn't matter," the one in the beige cloak answered, looking back to check on the boy. "Are you alright?"

"Y-yeah, thanks to you guys!" he said.

"It's the best if you get out of here quickly," Brandon advised, changing his attention back to the Obelisk Force.

The boy nodded quickly, saying, "thank you", before quickly running away.

"Oh? So you're defending Xyz scum?" one of the three spoke, beginning to grin. "Then surely you are one of their helpers. Tell us where the two real remnants are!"

"We are not helping Xyz scum," Brandon denied, even though he knew that with their action they kind of were.

"But we are going to defeat you," Xandon spoke, earning another grin from on of the three.

"I'd like to see you try," he said, readying his Duel Disk.

"Let's see how you are able to see after I've taken you're head," Shane growled, activating his Duel Disk.

"What did I just tell you?" Brandon harsly whispered. "No killing. Just carding."

"Yeah, yeah. Now come one and ready your Duel Disk!" Shane urged, glaring at the Obelisk Force.

Brandon and Xandon both activated their Duel Disks, the Obelisk Force following their example.

"Fine. You'll be facing the same fate as the Xyz scum then!" the middle one spoke, all three of them activating their Duel Disks.

"DUEL!"

Obelisk Force Red, Obelisk Force Green, Obelisk Force Yellow (4000, 4000, 4000) VS Xandon, Brandon, Shane (4000, 4000, 4000)

"My turn!" Red slapped the card on the monster card zone with a grin, a mechanical dog appearing before him. "I summon Antique Gear Hound Dog!"

Antique Gear Hound Dog, Level 3, 1000/1000

"Then I set two cards and end my turn."

"My turn!" Xandon slapped the card on the monster card zone, a white dragon covered in golden armor appearing on the field. "Because you control a monster and my field is empty, I can special summon Tfeni Dragon from my hand."

Hieroglyphic Dragon - Tfeni Dragon, Level 6, 2100/1400

"Then I normal summon Dragon Nut from my hand," he announced, a white, humanoid dragon covered in golden armor appearing.

Hieroglyphic Dragon - Dragon Nut, Level 4, 1700/900

"Furthermore, I activate the effect of Shiyu Dragon in my hand. By releasing one Hieroglyphic Dragon, I can special summon it from my hand," Xandon explained, a blue dragon replacing the humainoid Dragon Nut.

Hieroglyphic Dragon - Shiyu Dragon, Level 6, 2200/1000

**"I overlay the level 6 Tfeni Dragon and the level 6 Shiyu Dragon!" **Xandon announced, the two dragons disappearing into a swirling portal on the ground. **"Rule the ancient lands with the might given to you from the Gods! Call out your servants to support you against evil! Xyz summon! Appear, rank 6! Hieroglyphic Dragon King - Atumus!" **

Hieroglyphic Dragon King - Atumus, Rank 6, 2400/2100, Overlay Units: 2

"Xyz monster..." Red muttered. "So you really are working with them!"

"Even more reason to finish you off!" Green added.

Xandon said nothing as he picked one card out of his hand, setting it. "I set one card and end my turn."

"My turn! I summon Antique Gear Hound Dog!" Green declared, the same dog as Red summoned appearing.

"Another Hound Dog," Brandon noticed, eyes narrowing. "Say, Obelisk Force. How are you even able to cut people arms with a dog?"

"So you know about that, eh?" Yellow asked, grinning. "Well, our other monsters do that. These ones are just for the small fry like you!"

"Why do you even cut off their arms, anyways?" Xandon asked. "You already seal them into cards."

"If they don't want to tell us where the Xyz remnants are, we have to make them. By hurting them physically that's possible," Red began.

"And people often want to keep their body in tact," Green added. "So if we threaten to cut off their arm, they mostly give information."

"But even if they tell you the truth, you still attack them," Shane countered.

"Of course. They are Xyz scum! They might have a relation to the remnants," Yellow clarified. "And even if they don't: the faster we eliminate them, the better. It's just for fun!"

Shane scowled at that, a low growl escaping from his mouth. "You...!"

"But now, I activate Hound Dog's effect! When my opponent controls a monster, I can deal 600 points of damage!" Green explained, as Xandon gasped slightly.

Xandon: 4000 → 3400

"I set one card and end my turn," Green declared. "And during my next turn, you will be the one getting eliminated."

"Keep telling yourself that. My turn."

Brandon quickly scanned his hand for a card to use, ultimately settling on a monster.

"First, I send Burner and Baby Dragon to my graveyard to special summon Blaster from my deck," Brandon declared, discarding two cards, a volcanic dragon appearing on the field.

Dragon Ruler of Blazes - Blaster, Level 7, 2800/1800

"Second, I banish Burner and Baby Dragon to special summon Tidal from my hand."

Dragon Ruler of Waterfalls - Tidal, Level 7, 2600/2000

**"Level 7 Blaster, Tidal, overlay!" **Brandon ordered, the same process as with Xandon's monsters before occuring. **"Xyz summon! Descend, rank 7! Gaia Dragoon, the Thunderclap Knight!"**

Gaia Dragoon, the Thunderclap Knight, Rank 7, 2600/2100, Overlay Units: 2

"I set one card and end my turn."

"My turn! I summon Antique Gear Hound Dog!" A third dog emerged onto the field, and Yellow immediately did the same thing Green had also done after he had summoned his copy of Antique Gear Hound Dog. "I activate Hound Dog's effect to inflict 600 points of damage to you!"

He pointed at Brandon, who didn't even bother to flinch as his life dropped down.

Brandon: 4000 → 3400

"I set one card and end my turn."

"My turn! I summon Raid Raptors - Vanishing Lanius!"

Raid Raptors - Vanishing Lanius, Level 4, 1300/1600

"I activate Vanishing Lanius' effect. When it is normal or special summoned, I can special summon one 1 level 4 or lower Raid Raptors monster from my hand," Shane explained, slapping another card on the monster card zone. "I special summon a second Vanishing Lanius! And then I activate the effect of that Vanishing Lanius to special summon a third Vanishing Lanius from my hand!"

A second and a third copy of Vanishing Lanius appeared, as Shane threw his hand in the air. **"Level 4 Vanishing Laniuses, overlay!"**

The three monsters disappeared into the Overlay Network, as Shane began to recite a chant. **"Obscured falcon! Raise your sharpened talons in front of adversity, spread your wings of rebellion! Xyz Summon! Appear now! Rank 4! Raid Raptors - Rise Falcon!"**

Raid Raptors - Rise Falcon, Rank 4, 100/2000, Overlay Units: 3

"I set two cards and end my turn."

**Obelisk Force Red: 4000, Cards x2**

**Obelisk Force Green: 4000, Cards x3**

**Obelisk Force Yellow: 4000, Cards x2**

**Xandon: 3400, Cards x1**

**Brandon: 3400, Cards x1**

**Shane: 4000, Cards x0**

"My turn! Draw!" Red threw his hand forward, grinning. "I activate Antique Gear Hound Dog's effect to deal 600 points of damage to you!"

Xandon: 3400 → 2800

"I release my Antique Gear Hound Dog!" Hound Dog disappeared from the field, a mechanical chimera replacing it. "I advance summon Antique Gear Gadjilchimera!"

Antique Gear Gadjilchimera, Level 6, 2300/1300

"Then I equip Gadjilchimera with Antique Gear Tank!" Gadjilchimera took a seat on something that looked like a tank, roaring as its attack went up. "This card increases the attack of the equipped Antique Gear monster with 600!"

Antique Gear Gadjilchimera: 2300 → 2900

"Gadjilchimera, attack Rise Falcon!" Red ordered, the cannon unleashing a beam at the falcon.

"Trap, activate." Brandon's trap card flipped open, the beam disperged into thin air. "Attack Nullification negates your attack."

"Turn end."

"My turn! Draw!" Xandon threw his hand forward, Atumus beginning to charge up a purple flame blast. "Attack Antique Gear Hound Dog!"

Atumus unleashed its attack, burning Yellow's Hound Dog to ashes.

Obelisk Force Yellow: 4000 → 2600

"Turn end."

"My turn! Draw! Trap, activate!" Green's trap flipped open, mechanical parts beginning to assemble in front of him. "Antique Gear Reborn will revive one Antique Gear monster from my graveyard when I control no monsters with 200 more attack!"

"Trap, activate." This time, Shane's trap flipped open, a strong wind destroying Antique Gear Reborn, and with it the assembling mechanical parts. "Raptor's Gust can be activated when you activate a magic or trap card while I control a Raid Raptors monster. Then, the activation is negated and the card is destroyed."

Green let out a low growl, being forced to resort to his next move already. "I summon Antique Gear Hound Dog! And I activate its effect to deal 600 points of damage to you!"

Brandon: 3400 → 2800

"Then I activate the equip magic card, Antique Gear Hand! And I equip it to Hound Dog!" Green announced, throwing his hand forward. "Hound Dog, attack Gaia Dragoon!"

Brandon's eyes widened a bit. Why in the world would he attack Gaia Dragoon with Hound Dog?

Gaia Dragoon easily jabbed through the dog with its lance, the dog letting out a howl as it got destroyed.

Obelisk Force Green: 4000 → 2300

"Then Antique Gear Hand's effect activates! When the monster Hound Dog battled is still on the field at the end of the damage step, that monster is destroyed!" Green explained, a flying fist nailing Gaia Dragoon in the face.

Brandon took a step back as Gaia Dragoon got destroyed. At least he now knew why he attacked with Hound Dog.

"Then I activate Antique Gear Garage to add one Hound Dog to my hand and then I activate the magic card Fusion! I fuse the Antique Gear Hound Dog on my field and the Antique Gear Hound Dog in my hand!" The two dogs disappeared inside of a swirling vortex, Green grinning like a madman. **"Mechanical hounds who carry on the ancient spirits, ****flock together and become one with new power! Fusion Summon! Appear now! Level 5! Antique Gear Double Bite Hound Dog!" **

A two-headed version of Hound Dog appeared on the field, uttering a growl.

Antique Gear Double Bite Hound Dog, Level 5, 1400/1000

"Turn end."

"My turn! Draw! I activate Pot of Greed, allowing me to draw 2 new cards," Brandon explained, drawing two new cards. "Then I activate Dual Summon. This card allows me to perform an additional normal summon this turn."

He slapped the last two cards in his hand on the monster card zone, a long golden dragon with blue hair and a jeweled dragon appearing on the field.

"I summon Mirage Dragon and Alexandridragon."

Mirage Dragon, Level 4, 1600/1600

Alexandridragon, Level 4, 2000/0

**"Level 4 Mirage Dragon, Alexandridragon, overlay!" **Inside the black portal the two dragons disappeared, another being began to form. **"Mighty treacherous fangs of the deepest darkness, rise up against this foolish opression aimed against us! Descend now, dragon created from pitch-black darkness! Xyz summon! Appear now, rebellious part of my soul! Rank 4! Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon!"  
**

The black dragon descended on the field, letting out a roar as two purple beams circled around it.

Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon, Rank 4, 2500/2000, Overlay Units: 2

"Instant magic, activate. Book of Moon!" Xandon's set card revealed itself, a blue book falling in his hands. "This card allows me to change the position of one monster in attack position to face-down defense position. The monster I choose is Rise Falcon!"

"Rise Falcon...!" Shane repeated as his monster got set.

"Look at that!" Yellow urged, beginning to snicker. "They are working against each other!"

The three of them didn't respond to that, instead, Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon absorbed one of the two beams. "I activate Dark Rebellion's effect. Now, one monster on your side of the field loses half its current attack, and Dark Rebellion gains attack equal to the attack that's lost."

"What?!"

"Treason Discharge!"

Purple sparks tied Gadjilchimera together, Dark Rebellion letting out a roar.

Antique Gear Gadjilchimera: 2900 → 1450

Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon: 2500 → 3950

But Brandon didn't leave it at that. Instead, he made sure Gadjilchimera became even weaker. "Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon, Treason Discharge!"

Antique Gear Gadjilchimera: 1450 → 725

Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon: 3950 → 4675

"Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon, attack Gadjilchimera!" Brandon ordered, the orbs on Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon's wings beginning to glow, blue thunder sparks beginning to charge through them. Finally, the fang on its chin got enveloped in a bright light too, and it flew of towards Gadjilchimera. "Rebellious Lightning Disobey!"

Gadjilchimera got impaled by Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon's fang, and it let out a low cry as it got destroyed.

Obelisk Force Red: 4000 → 50

"Antique Gear Tank's effect activates! When it is destroyed and sent to the graveyard, you get 600 points of damage!" Then, one of Red two traps flipped open. "Antique Gear Booster doubles the effect damage an Antique Gear card would inflict to you!"

The tank shot a blast at Brandon, being strengthened by Booster's effect.

Brandon: 2800 → 1600

Red's second trap flipped open, Gadjilchimera returning to the field. "With Antique Gear Reborn, I can special summon a Antique Gear monster that was sent to the graveyard this turn with 200 more attack!"

Antique Gear Gadjilchimera: 2300 → 2500

"I end my turn," Brandon declared, Dark Rebellion's attack beginning to decrease to its original amount. "At this moment, Dark Rebellion's attack returns to normal."

Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon: 4650 → 2500

"My turn! Draw!" Yellow's trap flipped open, one Hound Dog reappearing on the field. "Call of the Living Dead returns Hound Dog to the field. Secondary, I summon another Hound Dog!"

A second Hound Dog appeared next to the other, both letting out a growl. "Now I activate the effects of both Hound Dogs to inflict 600 points of damage to you!"

At that moment, Yellow's own Antique Gear Booster opened. "And just like happened with your friend, the effect damage deal to you will be doubled too!"

Shane: 4000 → 1600

"Then I activate Hound Dog's second effect!" Yellow announced. "When I control another Antique Gear monster, I can Fusion summon a monster from my extra deck without Fusion!"

The two Hound Dogs from the field, and one in his hand disappeared in the swirling vortex. **"Mechanical hounds who carry on the ancient spirits, ****flock together and become one with new power! Fusion Summon! Appear now! Level 7! Antique Gear Triple Bite Hound Dog!"**

A three-headed dog emerged, all three heads letting out a growl.

Antique Gear Triple Bite Hound Dog, Level 7, 1800/1000

"It's time to say goodbye, Xyz scum!" Yellow shouted, ready to attack.

"Oh really?" Xandon asked.

"Look at our field," Brandon urged.

"Atumus has 2400 attack," Xandon informed.

"Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon has 2500 attack," Brandon added. "And the set Rise Falcon has a defense of 2000."

Yellow took a step back, realizing after he did had been for nothing. "B-but how!?"

"We had information regarding your Hound Dogs. When they battle, magic and trap cards can't be activated," Brandon explained.

Shane then realized why Rise Falcon was set by Xandon. Once in attack position, it would be an easy target with just 100 attack, so by protecting it by switching it to defense position before the Hound Dogs attacked, Rise Falcon was safe.

The Obelisk Force gritted their teeth, taking a step back.

"Turn end!" Yellow said, but he began to grin. "But we are not done yet! You won't be able to wipe out our life on your next turn."

"Is that so?" Brandon tauntingly asked, his smirk being hidden by his hood, turning to Shane.. "Take it away."

"No need to tell me twice," he said, drawing his card. Rise Falcon reappeared after Shane changed its position on his Duel Disk. "I activate Rise Falcon's effect! By detaching one Overlay Unit, Rise Falcon's attack increases with the amount of combined attack of all special summoned monsters my opponent controls!"

"And because this is a Battle Royal, we are counted as opponents, too!" Xandon added, Obelisk Force taking another step back.

Raid Raptors - Rise Falcon: 100 → 10700

"10700..." Red hissed, while Yellow and Green took another step back.

Rise Falcon got enveloped in an enormous cloak of flames, beginning to soar through the air.

"Rise Falcon can also attack each special summoned monster on the field!" Shane explained. "Now, Rise Falcon! Rend and tear all of our enemies! BRAVE CLAW REVOLUTION!"

Rise Falcon slammed into the Obelisk Force and their monsters, blasting all of them backwards as Xandon and Brandon impassively watched.

Obelisk Force Red: 50 → 0

Obelisk Force Green: 2300 → 0

Obelisk Force Yellow: 2600 → 0

**Xandon: WIN**

**Brandon: WIN**

**Shane: WIN**

"I feel that that have gone a lot less violent..." Xandon said, putting away his Duel Disk.

"It's Shane," Brandon pointed out. "What did you expect?"

By now, said boy hovered above the Obelisk Forced, who crawled back in fear.

"D-d-don't hurt us!" Red pleaded, and suddenly, the Obelisk Force seemed a lot less confident.

Xandon and Brandon joined up with Shane, also hovering above the Obelisk Force.

"Look who's begging for mercy now," mocked Shane, beginning to scowl.

"You're lucky that we're not as cruel as you guys are," Brandon assured, glancing to Xandon and Shane. "However, that doesn't mean we will let you go off the hook."

"Are you sure this is a good thing to do?" Xandon asked. "We won't be any better than them if we proceed with this."

"Honestly..." Brandon sighed, shaking his head in annoyance. "You have to understand that, sometimes, there's only one thing to do."

He turned to Shane, giving him a quick nod. "Take it away."

Shane nodded, taking a step forward with a scowl.

The shouts of anguish of the Obelisk Force was the last thing heard before daylight rose.

* * *

"Those three really did some good work."

Johnson shot another quick look at the three cards, and he received a nod from Leonardo.

"Indeed. And nobody has noticed a thing," Leonardo added. "And from what I saw, the Obelisk Force was only able inflict effect damage to them. They most certainly are able to hold their own against Obelisk Force."

"Do you think they will join you?" Johnson asked, raising an eyebrow.

"All-Star Trinity closely cooperates with us," Leonardo pointed out. "I practically have the assurance that the three of them will become Duel Warriors of our world."

"But are they also willing to?" Johnson then asked, in which Leonardo slightly raised an eyebrow.

"Shane is definitely wanting to. Seeing what Academia has done," Leonardo explained. "Same goes for Xandon, even though he's a lot more... light-hearted and naive. And for Kanbara, well, he's Kanbara. He surely has a reason to dislike Academia, and wanting to fight against them."

"Does that man... how do they call him 'Master' it was? How does he think of it?"

"He had been informed and he had given permission about this Obelisk Force situation," Leonardo began. "He also knows about the rest, and he has already given his permission."

"So we already have his whole Duel School on his side," Johnson concluded, at which Leonardo shook his head.

"That we have them on our side, doesn't mean that they will all be used. For now, Shane, Xandon, and Brandon are the only ones secure of becoming a Duel Warrior," Leonardo informed. "The others? Well, they will need to prove themselves during the tournament."

"Prove themselves?" Johnson repeated. "Is that why are you are producing those cards?"

"It is. For some duelists in the tournament that won't make a difference because they already master that summoning," Leonardo said. "That includes Kanbara. Even though I still wonder... how did he obtain Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon in the first place? How did he obtain all of his Pendulum monsters in the first place?"

"Don't ask me. You should just contact him about it," Johnson answered.

Leonardo shook his head. "No. I think Master knows more. Way more. He's in charge of All-Star Trinity for a reason."

"But... isn't Kanbara around that man all the time?"

"Only when he isn't on his 'mission'."

Leonardo stood up, shooting Johnson a polite smile.

"Could you leave me alone for a bit?" he asked. "I want to speak to 'Master' privately."

Giving a nod, Johnson turned away, leaving Leonardo's office so that he could do his business.

"Hello. It's me, Leonardo Declan."

_"Ah, Leonardo. What do you want to discuss today?"_

"I actually want to ask you something. Something very important."

_"And that very important thing is?"_

"Pendulum monsters. Brandon Kanbara's Pendulum monsters. How did he get them?"

It remained silent on the other side for a while, but Leonardo heard Master inhaling some air, speaking up again.

_"Make sure you're here within half an hour. I'll explain everything."_

* * *

His cards were still scattered across the desk, because he hadn't bothered to organize them neatly like he normally did.

He held one of the cards that had been on the desk before in front of his face, closely inspecting it.

"How? How did you become a Pendulum monster, Odd-Eyes?"

It was still a question that kept him busy. He liked Pendulum and it was very convenient during duels, and he definitely didn't complain about it.

But that didn't mean he couldn't wonder how it all was possible. Before he had never heard of Pendulum monsters, and then, one day when he woke up again, he had three. Time Stream Dragon, Star Stream Dragon, and Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon.

And when he told Master about it, he didn't even blink. There was no surprise, no weird actions, no nothing. It seemed like a normal thing to him.

Which meant that Master obviously knew more about it.

Placing Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon back on his desk, swapping it for the main body of his Duel Disk, he proceeded to contact Master to see if it was able for him to drop by.

Until he heard the sound of an incoming message ringing through his ears.

"Who could that be?"

He quickly opened it. The faster he could contact Master the better. For someone who, for as far as Brandon knew, never left his room, he had quite the full agenda.

_Dear Brandon,_

_Seeing your absence the last couple of days, I want you to be present at the Duel School today. If you don't, then I'm afraid I have to degrade you to an A-Rank member._

_I see you later today._

_\- Kate._

The blond let out a groan after reading. This surely changed his plans and he didn't like it. Especially because he couldn't do as Master asked if he would be in A-Rank.

Going downstairs and putting on his bodywarmer, he headed out the door, heading to Your Move.

But first, he needed a milkshake.

* * *

**Hope you enjoyed this chapter and I wish you all a nice day.**

**See ya!**


	20. Chapter 20

**I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh! Arc-V. I only own my OCs.**

* * *

Synchro panic!

* * *

"Woah!"

The poor boy crashed into a wall, his motorcycle quickly following.

"Ouch..." He stood up from the ground, looking around to the place he had landed. This place was definitely unknown to him. "Where did _that guy_ transport me to?"

The place certainly had a lot less highways than where he came from. And a lot more people.

"Where is everyone?" he wondered. "Did that guy really transport me to a ghost city?!"

Outside of the allyway the boy had been transported to, a girl stopped. She shot him a weird look.

"Oh! People!" the boy exclaimed, walking up to the girl with a grin.

"What do you want?" she asked, placing her hands on her hips.

"I was wondering if you could tell me where I am?" he asked, shooting a cheepish grin.

The girl glared before sighing. She now knew the reason why the guy was quiet all the time: he had a bad sense of humor. She was unwilling to deal with that.

"Are you kidding me?" she asked, frowning. "This is Maiami City. You live here, Brandon."

"Brandon? ...Eh?" he went. "I think you're mistaking me for someone else! Landon! I'm Landon!"

The boy even took his helmet off to prove it, showing his brown hair and blue eyes in full glory, but the girl didn't see the difference. He just looked exactly the same as before to her.

"Changing the first two letters of your name won't support your stupid joke," the girl said. "Even if I change the first letter of my first name and suddenly wear other and strange clothes, I'm still Stephanie."

The boy looked at his clothes. Then at the girl her clothes. He even saw a boy passing past the allyway. **They** were the one with strange clothes. What was wrong with wearing a Turbo Duel suit?

"I don't like your attitude," he suddenly said, glaring. "I politely asked you if you could tell me where I am now! All I get is a snobbish attitude!"

"That's because you live here and I already know you! If someone shouldn't complain about a bad attitude than it's you!" Stephanie answered, glaring. "Now, change clothes at home and get to the Duel School before Kate gets mad, Brandon."

"My name is Landon!" he protested, jumping on his motorcycle. "And I'll prove it to you! I'll show you through a duel that I'm Landon! The one and only!"

Dueling on a motorcycle? And in an allyway no less. Brandon had something weird to him before, but Stephanie knew for sure that he was totally weird.

Despite that, she still took out her Duel Disk. This was a good way to duel him and put him in his place.

Landon noticed, and activated the Duel Disk on his motorcycle, while Stephanie activated hers.

"DUEL!"

**Landon (4000) versus Stephanie (4000)**

"My turn!" Stephanie picked out a card from her hand, activating it. "I activate Hand Obliteration! The both of us discard our entire hand and draw new cards equal to the number of cards we discarded."

Both discarded their cards, drawing new ones.

"Then I activate Vampire Sorcerer's effect in the graveyard! By banishing it, I can normal summon one Vampire monster without a release!" Stephanie explained, slapping a card on the monster card zone. "I summon Shadow Vampire!"

Shadow Vampire, Level 5, 2000/0

"Now that he is Normal Summoned, I activate Shadow Vampire's effect! Upon his normal summon, I can special summon 1 Dark Vampire monster from my deck or hand." From her deck came one card, and she slapped it on the monster card zone. "I special summon Vampire Lord!"

Vampire Lord, Level 5, 2000/1500

**"I overlay the level 5 Shadow Vampire and Vampire Lord!" **she declared, the two monsters disappearing into a swirling vortex. **"Xyz summon! Appear, Rank 5! Edelritter - Vampire Bram!"**

Edelritter - Vampire Bram, Rank 5, 2500/0, Overlay Units: 2

"I set one card and end my turn!"

"Alright! My turn!" Landon pulled up, increasing the speed of his motorcycle and drew his card. "Draw! I summon Dragunity - Dux!"

Dragunity - Dux, Level 4, 1500/1000

"And when Dragunity - Dux is summoned, I can equip one level 3 or lower Dragon-type Dragunity monster to it! The monster I equip is the level 2 monster Dragunity - Phalanx!"

Landon grinned, throwing his hand forward. "When Dragunity - Phalanx is equipped to a monster as an Equip card by a monster effect, I can Special Summon it! Now, come to the field, Dragunity - Phalanx!"

An armored blue dragon appeared on the field with a roar, flying alongside Dux.

Dragunity - Phalanx, Level 2, 500/1100

**"I tune the level 4 Dragunity - Dux with the level 2 Dragunity - Phalanx!" **Landon declared, as Dragunity - Phalanx turned into green rings that surrounded Dragunity - Dux.** "Power yourself up with the souls of the fallen comrades! Build on those bonds! Synchro Summon! Appear, Level 6! Dragunity Knight - Gae Bulg!**

A purple dragon with shining with armor emerged, Dragunity - Dux riding on it.

Dragunity Knight - Gae Bulg, Level 6, 2000/1100

"Gae Bulg! Attack Vampire Bram!" Landon ordered, pointing at the sword wielding vampire.

Gae Bulg charged up a beam of air, while Stephanie began to laugh.

"You're attacking a monster with an attack of 2500 with an attack of 2000!" Stephanie pointed out. "You really are weirder than I thought!"

"When attacking or being attacked, I can activate Gae Bulg's effect! By banishing one Winged-Beast monster in my graveyard, Gae Bulg gains that monster's attack!" Landon explained, banishing one card. "And I banish Dragunity - Dux! Which means that Gae Bulg will gain 1500 attack!"

Dragunity Knight - Gae Bulg: 2000 → 3500

"Go, Gae Bulg!" At Landon's orders Gae Bulg unleashed its windy blast, blowing away Vampire Bram's sword before it got blasted to pieces.

Stephanie: 4000 → 3000

"I set one card and end my turn!"

**Stephanie: 3000, Cards x2**

**Landon: 4000, Cards x4**

"My turn! Draw!" At the moment Stephanie drew her card, Vampire Bram reappeared on the field, shielding himself using his sword. "After Vampire Bram is destroyed by you, I can special summon him in defense position during the standby phase next turn!"

She immediately switched him to attack position, pointing at Gae Bulg. "Vampire Bram, attack Gae Bulg!"

Vampire Bram charged at Gae Bulg, slashing its wings off.

Landon: 4000 → 3500

"Then I activate my trap card, Vampire Shift. When I have no Field Magic in play, and a minimum of one Zombie-type monster, I can activate Vampire Empire from my deck!" Stephanie explained, a large castle appearing. "Then, I can Special Summon one Dark Vampire monster from my graveyard in defense position. I summon Vampire Lord!"

The blue-haired vampire reappeared on the field, stepping out of his coffin.

"Turn end."

"My turn! Draw!" A small red dragon appeared on the field, the javelin on its head shining in the light. "I summon the level 2 Tuner monster Dragunity - Aklys!"

Dragunity - Akyls, Level 2, 1000/800

"And when Akyls is Normal Summoned, I can Special Summon a Dragunity monster from my hand and equip it with Aklys!" Landon explained, summoning forth a man in a bird costume. "I Special Summon Dragunity - Angus!"

Dragunity - Angus, Level 5, 2100/1000

"Then I activate the Magic card Dual Summon, allowing me to Normal Summon an additional time this turn. I summon the level 3 Tuner monster Dragunity - Black-Spear!"

Dragunity - Black-Spear, Level 3, 1000/1000

"Dragunity - Angus, attack Vampire Lord!" Landon ordered, grinning. "And when Angus attacks a monster in defense position while he's equipped with a Dragunity monster, he inflicts piercing damage!"

Angus shot an arrow that cloaked inself in lightning, piercing Vampire Lord in the chest and electrocutating it.

Stephanie: 3000 → 2400

Landon's trap flipped open, Black-Spear becoming three rings, surrounding Angus. "The trap card Urgent Tuning allows me to tune during the battle phase!"

"Tuning during the battle phase!?"

**"I tune the level 5 Dragunity - Angus with the level 3 Dragunity - Black-Spear! ****Equip yourself with the armory of the fallen comrades! Build on those bonds! Synchro Summon! Appear, Level 8! Dragunity Knight - Barcha!"**

Dragunity Knight - Barcha, Level 8, 2000/1200

The green dragon roared, the spirit of Aklys coming back to the field and piercing through Vampire Bram.

Landon noticed the shocked expression on Stephanie's face and he began to explain. "When Aklys is sent to the graveyard when equipped to a monster, I can destroy one card on the field! And that's the lonely Vampire Bram!"

_Alright, Stephanie. Calm down. After this attack, you still have 400 life left. That's enough to do something next turn._

Or well, that's what she tried to tell herself. Landon spoiled those hopeful thoughts.

"When Barcha is Synchro Summoned, I can equip a number of Dragon-type Dragunity monsters from my graveyard to him. Then, for each Dragunity equipped, Barcha gains 300 attack," Landon explained, showing 2 cards. "The two Dragunitys I equip are Black-Spear and Anklys!"

Barcha roared as he got surrounded by a green energy, power increasing.

Dragunity Knight - Barcha: 2000 → 2600

"Dragunity Knight - Barcha! Direct attack!"

Barcha let out another roar, charging up its attack. The tamer on its back threw its hand forward, ordering Barcha to unleash the final attack. The green energy blast flew at Stephanie at high speed, completely devouring her and her life.

Stephanie: 2400 → 0

**Landon: WIN**

* * *

"You have really spoiled my plans, Leonardo Declan."

"I just want to know about Brandon Kanbara's Pendulums," Leonardo answered. "That that belongs with your plan is very unfortunate."

"Well, it's not that much of a master plan. All I wanted is to keep a secret from him," Master said. "I'm afraid that if he knows about it, he will be busy with it all the time."

"Brandon Kanbara doens't seem like the person who's constantly busy with one thing," Leonardo said, smirking. "However, we're not getting to the point. How did he get his Pendulum monsters?"

At that, Master took out an item; a pendant. A blue crystal surrounded by a pair of wings.

"This pendant created those. It was at quite a young age that it happened," Master said, recalling those events.

"How did it happen? I assume the pendant needs to be close to him in order to create those Pendulum monsters," Leonardo guessed, earning a nod from Master.

"Indeed. One day, I believe it was when he was 11, I gave it to him. But I hid it in a box. I told him to look after it, but he wasn't allowed to look in the box," Master said. "For as far I knew, he didn't, but the pendant still did its work, accepting Brandon as the boy I proposed to it."

"Proposed?"

Master nodded. "8 years ago I was busy searching for the most talented duelists for All-Star Trinity Duel School. While I was walking down a street, the pendant spoke to me."

"Spoke?" Leonardo asked, raising his eyebrows, earning another nod. "Are you saying there's something sealed within that pendant?"

"I honestly don't know. But it told me that I was one of the people that could save the world, but I was already preparing for that," Master said. "That was the reason why I wanted to create All-Star Trinity. And that's also your reason for making LDS so big."

Leonardo nodded. "Indeed."

"However, I, myself aren't suited for something like that. Simply because I can't. I'm not build out for something that big, and that's where the boy I recruited that time comes in," Master said. "I asked the pendant that if I could fine a duelist more suited than me, the pendant could grant its power to that duelist. The pendant agreed to that. And so, I recruited Brandon Kanbara and trained him to the best I could. And it seemed the pendant accepted that."

"Your explanation is very weary, to be honest," Leonardo admitted. "But I understand that you can't tell me everything or the full story. I accept that. Still, I want to thank you for telling me."

"It's no problem, Leonardo," Master assured. "That's why we're working together."

"Indeed."

Leonardo then got a call. He identified the caller as Johnson, and thus, he accepted the call. "What is it, Johnson?"

_"President. We've gotten a signal of very high Synchro readings."_

"Synchro readings?" Leonardo repeated, remaining silent to think for a short while. "I'll be there soon."

_"Got it."_

"Excuse me, Master. But I have to go," Leonardo informed. "Thank you for telling me. I'll contact you whenever something is needed."

"Same goes for me."

Leonardo left, leaving Master alone. However, instead of resorting to his usual business, he held the pendant in front of him.

"Maybe... Maybe now the time is right..."

* * *

Brandon entered the room, taking another sip of his milkshake.

Everybody noticed him entering, the boys immediately storming off to him.

"You're back!" James noticed, catching him in a headlock. "About time!"

"Let me go. Now."

James obeyed, but quickly ruffled his hair before doing so.

"Welcome back," Eldon said. "It's good to see you're back!"

But, on the other side, there was Stephanie, who shot him a devastating glare.

"You got some guts!" she hissed, walking up towards him. "Trying to be funny with your other clothes and change of name. Then knocking me out through dueling on a motorcycle! And then just leaving me there in that filthy allyway!"

"Dueling on a motorcycle?" Lamar repeated. "Is that even possible?"

"I don't know if you know, while I can ride a motorycle, it's not allowed. I'm underage," he reminded. "Besides, I don't know what you're talking about."

"Sure you don't," Paris butted in. "Then you probably don't know about your own cards!"

"Hm?"

"Those Synchro based cards," Stephanie clarified. "Dragunity."

"I believe you fell on your head. There is no such archetype as Dragunity," Brandon claimed. "If thy would exist and if they would be any good, I would have them included in my deck."

"But we don't know anything about you," Chloe butted in. "For as far as we know, you may have one deck focusing on Xyz and Fusion, while the other is a pure or mainly Synchro one."

"I don't. And I don't know what you guys are talking about either," he claimed.

"He looked exactly like you and he used Dragon-types too," Stephanie remembered. "So that's definitely you. There's no way someone else can look exactly like you."

_Then you haven't met Xandon yet,_ he countered inwardly, then glared at Stephanie. "That proves nothing. I **don't** and I repeat, **don't** know about an archetype named Dragunity."

"Then prove it," Paris ordered, placing her hands on her hips.

Brandon took out his Duel Disk, equipping it to his left arm. "Fine. Then I will. I will duel one of you, focusing solely on Synchro Summon."

Everyone then looked at each other. Stephanie held her hands up. "I already dueled and got knocked out. I'm not dueling again."

"I'm not dueling my buddy," James said. "Especially because I don't accuse him."

"Yeah, if he says he doesn't know an archetype called Dragunities then we believe him!" Eldon added.

Brandon looked back at the boys, lips slightly parting. _These dorks believe me? And they see me as their friends? Tchk. They're even more stupid than I thought._

"I'm dueling you!"

Lamar stepped forward, hiding his hands in his pockets. "I don't accuse you, but I just want to duel you! It has been a long time since I've had some good action!"

Brandon smirked, going to stand across of him. "Very well then."

The two activated their Duel Disks, shooting each other a confident look.

"DUEL!"

**Lamar (4000) versus Brandon (4000)**

"My turn!" Lamar declared, showing Brandon a magic card. "I activate the field magic, Ultra Athlete Stadium!"

The field began to change, and Brandon looked around as it changed into a big stadium all kind of flashy lights flashing.

"I summon Ultra Athlete Midfielder!" Lamar announced, a man in a soccer jersey with cybernetic parts on it appearing.

Ultra Athlete Midfielder, Level 4, 1200/1000

"You want to play soccer with me?" Brandon asked, amused. "I'll have you know that I'm my team's ace."

"I'll take you up on that challenge one day, but for now, I activate Ultra Athlete Stadium's effect! When a Ultra Athlete is Normal Summoned, I can add an Ultra Athlete to my hand from my deck," Lamar explained, one card emerging from his deck. "Then, I return Midfielder to my hand to Special Summon the Ultra Athlete Mighty Slugger that I added to my hand!"

Ultra Athlete Mighty Slugger, Level 5, 2300/1700

"I activate the effect of Dragon Ice in my hand. By discarding one card, I can Special Summon it to the field whenever you Special Summon a monster," Brandon explained, discarding one card as a humanoid dragon appeared before him.

Dragon Ice, Level 5, 1800/2200

"I set one card and end my turn."

"My turn. Draw!" Brandon discarded his drawn card together with another card, magma emerging on the field and forming itself into a creature. "I discard Burner together with another Dragon-type monster to Special Summon Blaster from my deck."

Dragon Ruler of Blazes - Blaster, Level 7, 2800/1800

"Then, I summon the level 1 Tuner monster Guard of Flamvell," he declared, said dragon appearing on the field.

Guard of Flamvell, Level 1, 100/2000

**"I tune the level 7 Blaster with the level 1 Guard of Flamvell!" **he declared, the two monsters performing the Tuning process. **"When the sun rises, it will illuminate all darkness! May you flood... in light! Synchro Summon! Show yourself, level 8! Sun Dragon Inti!" **

Sun Dragon Inti, Level 8, 3000/2800

"Furthermore, from my hand, I activate the magic card Resurrection of the Dead, summoning back Guard of Flamvell." The cross depicted on said card fell in the boys hand, glowing with a bright light and returning Guard of Flamvell to the field. **"I tune the level 5 Dragon Ice with the level 1 Guard of Flamvell!"**

The same process as before occurred, as some people looked shocked and amazed.

"A second Synchro summon in his first turn!" James said, amazement in his eyes.

"A second Synchro Summon in his first turn...!" Riley said, who was, compared to James, shocked.

**"When the moon is full in the darkness, the whispering of the devil will be heard! Entice them over... to death! Synchro Summon! Show yourself, level 6! Moonlight Dragon Quilla!"**

A similar monster to Inti appeared, but, unlike Inti, Quilla had 4 blue dragon heads coming from the head in the middle, the head in the middle resembling the moon, while Inti had 4 orange heads coming from a head resembling the sun.

Moonlight Dragon Quilla, Level 6, 2500/2000

"Now, Moonlight Dragon Quilla, attack Mighty Slugger!" Brandon ordered. "Moonlight Burst!"

The 4 heads each unleashed a blue blast at Might Slugger, causing an explosion. When the smoke cleared, Mighty Slugger was still seen standing, while Quilla was gone.

"Oh?" Brandon raised one eyebrow, noticing that Quilla had disappeared instead. He then noticed what happened. "Mighty Slugger's attack. It's higher than it's original value."

Lamar nodded with a grin. "That's because of Stadium's effect. When an Ultra Athlete is Special Summoned, all Ultra Athletes gain 500 attack."

Ultra Athlete Mighty Slugger: 2300 → 2800

Brandon: 4000 → 3700

"Hmph. Not bad." He threw his hand forward, Inti letting out a roar. "Sun Dragon Inti, attack Mighty Slugger! Sunshine Burst!"

The 4 heads each shot an orange blast at Mighty Slugger, doing what Quilla had failed to do: destroy it.

Lamar: 4000 → 3800

"Turn end."

**Lamar: 3800, Cards x3**

**Brandon: 3700, Cards x1**

"No set card..." Michelle muttered.

"Again," Daniel added.

"My turn! Draw!" Lamar slapped a card on the monster card zone. "I summon Ultra Athlete Midfielder. And at this time, I activate Stadium's effect to add an Ultra Athlete to my hand."

Another card emerged from his deck, and he added it to his hand. "Then I return Midfielder to my hand again, this time, to Special Summon Ultra Athlete Playmaker from my hand!"

Ultra Athlete Playmaker, Level 8, 2600/2000

"And now, Stadium's effect activates again, increasing the attack of Mighty Slugger and Playmaker with 500!" Lamar explained, Playmaker and Mighty Slugger letting out a cry.

Ultra Athlete Mighty Slugger: 2800 → 3300

Ultra Athlete Playmaker: 2600 → 3100

"Mighty Slugger! Attack Sun Dragon Inti!" Lamar ordered, as Slugger smashed a ball cloaked in lightning at the dragon, nearing at high speed, ultimately destroying it.

Brandon: 3700 → 3400

"Playmaker! Direct attack!"

Playmaker threw his in light enveloped ball at Brandon, causing an explosion.

Everyone was shocked. The smoke cleared and there it was.

The monster that had been destroyed earlier that battle phase: Sun Dragon Inti. And not only was Brandon's life higher than that he started out with during the battle phase, but Lamar's life was lowered while Mighty Slugger was gone.

Brandon: 3400 → 4950 → 4350

Lamar: 3800 → 2150

"H-how's that possible?" Lamar asked, taking a step back.

"It's easy. When Sun Dragon Inti is destroyed by battle and sent to the graveyard, the monster that destroyed gets taken with it and you will be dealt damage equal to half the attack that monster had," Brandon explained. "Then, when Inti is destroyed, I can Special Summon Quilla from my graveyard. And for Quilla goes the same. When targeted by an attack, I gain life equal to half of the attacking monster's attack. And when Quilla gets destroyed, I can Special Summon Inti from my graveyard. So, when Inti got destroyed, Quilla came back, taking the hit of Playmaker, while also restoring my life. After its destruction, it brought back Inti."

"That's one kickass combo!" James commented, earning a nod from Eldon.

"Quilla and Inti..." he began. "They really are..."

"They are like the sun and the moon," Brandon finished. "When the sun goes down, the moon comes. When the moon goes down, the sun comes up. It's no different for Inti and Quilla."

Lamar's trap flipped open as counter. "Call of the Living Dead returns Mighty Slugger to the field! Then I return it to my hand to Special Summon Ultra Athlete Goalkeeper in defense position! Turn end!"

Ultra Athlete Goalkeeper, Level 6, 1000/2800

"My turn! Draw!" He showed Lamar a magic card, drawing 5 cards. "Treasure Cards from the Heavens allows us both to draw until we have 6 cards in our hand."

Lamar drew 2 cards of his own, making it 6 for him too. Then, Blaster reappeared on the field with a roar.

"I banish Burner and Dragon Ice to Special Summon Blaster back to the field," Brandon explained, summoning another monster. "I summon the level 2 Tuner monster Dread Dragon!"

Dread Dragon, Level 2, 1100/400

**"I tune the level 7 Blaster with the level 2 Dread Dragon!"** Brandon declared, marking the third Synchro Summon of the duel. **"Roar, virtual wake of destruction with a legendary tale! Silver dragon with eyes of azure, grant me your strength! Synchro Summon! Thundering descent, level 9! Azure-Eyes Silver Dragon!"**

There was a flash of cackling lightning, a dragon emerging afterwards. The dragon roared, its silver body radiating brilliantly in the light provided by Inti while it's azure eyes shone brightly.

Azure-Eyes Silver Dragon, Level 9, 2500/3000

"Now, I activate the magic card, Hand Obliteration, forcing us to discard our entire hands and draw a new one up until the number of cards we discarded," Brandon explained, discarding his cards. "Which makes 6 for you and 5 for me."

"He sealed Lamar's tactic of using Midfielder again and use it to Special Summon while getting a full hand and new cards for himself," Chris spoke, who, together with Kate, were done with the paperwork and were watching the entire time. Nobody had noticed they were there.

"Now, I activate Azure-Eyes Silver Dragon's effect! Once per turn, I can Special Summon one normal Dragon-type monster from my graveyard!"

The dragon's eyes shone again, letting out a fierce roar. "Silver's Cry!"

A jeweled dragon emerged on the field, letting out a roar. "Revive, Labradoridragon!"

Labradoridragon, Level 6, 0/2400

"And he also dumped cards in his graveyard to utilize that effect," Kate said, coming back on Chris' comment.

"Then I activate the magic card Thundering Roar of the Silver Dragon from my hand. This card allows me to Special Summon one normal Dragon-type monster from my graveyard," Brandon explained, Azure-Eyes Silver Dragon letting out another roar. "Come, Petit Dragon!"

Unlike Brandon's other dragons who were either big or very intimidating, Petit Dragon was... cute and cuddly.

Petit Dragon, Level 2, 600/700

"Then, I activate Star Changer's effect, decreasing Petit Dragon's level by one!"

Petit Dragon: Level 2 → Level 1

**"I tune the level 1 Petit Dragon with the level 6 Labradoridragon!" **

"Another Synchro Summon!" Chloe exclaimed, watching how another Synchro monster was about to appear.

**"Spread those wondrous and beautiful wings, guided by the winds of faith! Strike down at those who oppose us at light speed! Synchro Summon! Come forth, level 7! Clear part of my soul! Clear Wing Synchro Dragon!"**

The third of Brandon's Dimensional Dragons and the fourth Synchro monster of the duel appeared on the field, it's wings shining brilliantly as it let out a roar.

Clear Wing Synchro Dragon, Level 7, 2500/2000

"I attack Playmaker with Sun Dragon Inti!" Brandon announced, pointing at said monster. "Sunshine Burst!"

The 4 blasts were launched at Playmaker, but Goalkeeper interrupted by jumping in front of him.

"Goalkeeper's effect prevents an Ultra Athlete from destruction once during this turn!" Lamar explained. "So that way, you can't hurt me through Inti's effect!"

"Seems you haven't payed attention at that time," Brandon commented.

"No, no, I think I did. No, I know for a fact that I did," Lamar claimed, knowing what Brandon meant. "Clear Wing Synchro Dragon's effect prevents level 5 or higher monsters from being targeted by monster effects."

Brandon smirked, eyes narrowing. "I activate Clear Wing Synchro Dragon's effect! When a level 5 or higher monster activates its effect, that monster's effect is negated and the monster is destroyed. Then, Clear Wing gains attack equal to that monster's attack!"

"What?!"

"Clear Wing can also do that when a monster isn't being targeted?!" Emily asked.

"Dichroic Mirror!"

Clear Wing Synchro Dragon shot rainbow lights from its body, dispelling Goalkeeper.

Clear Wing Synchro Dragon: 2500 → 3500

With Goalkeeper gone, Inti's attack went through, destroying itself.

Brandon: 4350 → 4250

"Inti's effect activates! Playmaker gets destroyed and you will be dealt half its attack as damage!" he explained, throwing his hand forward, getting rid of Playmaker.

Lamar: 2150 → 600

Then, Quilla returned, darkening the field slightly. But its appearance didn't matter anymore. Brandon had, together with Quilla, 3 dragons on his field, while Lamar had nothing left anymore. And Brandon knew it too, and made full use of that. Throwing his hand forward, he spoke up again.

"Clear Wing Synchro Dragon, direct attack!" he ordered. "HELL DIVE SLASHER OF WHIRLWIND!"

Clear Wing Synchro Dragon climbed up in the air, enveloping itself in a cloak of wind, dive-bombing at Lamar.

"GUAGH!" he gagged, Clear Wing Synchro Dragon nailing into him.

He fell on the ground, the last bit of his life being depleted.

Lamar: 600 → 0

**Brandon: WIN**

"Are you okay?" the blond asked, extending his hand to Lamar to help him up.

The boy rubbed the back of his head, accepting the blond's hand. "I'm fine."

"You know, I haven't seen any of those Dragunity monsters pass by," Eldon noted, as everyone looked at him.

"Maybe that would have been better," James added. "Would've prevented Lamar from getting his ass whooped."

All the boys, except for Daniel and Brandon, laughed. The girls, or well, Paris and Stephanie, didn't think of it as very funny. They had falsely accused the blond about the Dragunities, and he had proved that he told the truth.

Which meant that they needed to apologize to him.

"Hey!"

"What do you want?"

The tone his voice held when he spoke to them didn't make them want to apologize even more.

"We want to apologize," Paris said, at which Brandon shrugged.

"It's fine. I don't need your apology," he said, turning away. "Just don't falsely accuse me ever again. Now excuse me, I have a call to make."

Distancing himself from the rest, he contacted the person he needed to talk to.

"_Ah, Kanbara. I was about to contact you. How can I help you?"_

"I want answers, Master."

_"Answers about what exactly?"_

"Pendulum. My Pendulum to be exact."

Master didn't fall silent, and there was no sigh either. Instead, he just continued the conversation on the same foot it had been going on.

_"You can come by later today. I'll tell you everything you want to know."_

"Good."

He looked around to see if no one was eavesdropping on him, instead, he found Kate in the doorpost of her office beckoning him to enter.

"I got to go. I'll come by later today."

* * *

**Credits for the Summon Chants of Gae Bulg and Barcha go to Ghost83. **

**I didn't know if I had said tis upon its first appearance, but for Clear Wing Synchro Dragon its anime effect is used. Sun Dragon Inti and Moonlight Dragon Quilla have mixed effects:**

**Sun Dragon Inti**

**1 Tuner + 1 or more Non-Tuner monsters**

**Once, during either player's turn, you can reduce the attack of this card to 0 until the end phase. If this card is destroyed by battle and sent to the graveyard: destroy the monster that destroyed this card, and if you do, inflict damage to your opponent equal to half the attack that monster had on the field. If this card on the field is destroyed: you can special summon 1 "Moonlight Dragon Quilla" from your graveyard.**

**Moonlight Dragon Quilla**

**1 Tuner + 1 or more Non-Tuner monsters**

**If this card is targeted for an attack: Gain life equal to half the attacking monster's attack. If this card on the field is destroyed: you can special summon 1 "Sun Dragon Inti" from your graveyard. When a "Sun Dragon Inti" on your side of the field is destroyed and sent to the graveyard: special summon this card from your graveyard. During the end phase of your turn, if you control this face-up card: destroy it.**

**Now, you might have noticed that for Clear Wing Synchro Dragon's attack, I have used 'Hell Dive Slasher of Whirlwind' instead of 'Hell Dive Whirlwind Slasher' and there's a reason for that:**

**In japanese, the attack names are these:**

**Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon: Rasen no Sutoraiku Baasuto**  
** Clear Wing Synchro Dragon: Senpuu no Herrudaibusurasshaa**  
** Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon: Hangyaku no Raituningu Disuobei**

** First, it got translated to this:**

**Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon: Spiral Strike Burst**  
** Clear Wing Synchro Dragon: Hell Dive Whirlwind Slasher**  
** Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon: Rebellious Lightning Disobey**

** But now, it got translated to this in both subs and by yugioh wikia:**

** Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon: Strike Burst of Spirals**  
** Clear Wing Synchro Dragon: Hell Dive Slasher of Whirlwind**  
** Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon: Lightning Disobey of Rebellion**

**Because the second one is probably the good one, I'm tempted to use those, but because the first ones are apparently also possible. I want to ask you guys, which ones you prefer. The first translation, or the second translation.**

**Anyways, I hope you enjoyed this chapter and I wish all of you a nice day.**

**See ya!**


	21. Chapter 21

**I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh! Arc-V. I only own my OCs.**

* * *

"I take it that you want to speak to me?"

Brandon sat down in the chair across the desk, Kate taking place in the chair behind her desk.

"That's right. And I'm glad you came today," Kate admitted. "Now I don't have to demote you to A-Rank. It would be a shame."

"Oh really?" he asked.

"From what Chris and I have seen, you dominate against the other S-Rank members. You've shown that again against Lamar," Kate said. "Also, we've noticed you had a win percentage of 100 percent at your previous Duel School. We don't know if that's something amazing, because we don't know how good your previous Duel School was, but judging from that, you belong at our highest level."

"Then what is the problem?"

"Your attitude. You often don't show up and when you do, you're late most of the time," Kate said, shooting him a stern look. "You lack dedication. And if we allow you to do what you're doing, we give off a bad signal and everyone else will follow your example."

"I understand. I just had some important business that needed finishing." Well, hanging out with Kai and other All-Star Trinity student wasn't that important, but carding the Obelisk Force was. And if he didn't proceed to hang out with Kai, he would have never been able to do that. "It won't happen again."

"That's good to hear."

"But I have to ask your permission to leave one more time," he said, and Kate's jaw fell. "They organized a goodbye party at my previous Duel School and I can't miss my own party."

"That's fine with me, but I do want you to stay longer tomorrow then," she said, earning a nod from the blond. "Go now, before I change my mind."

"Thank you."

When the blond left her office, she sank further in her chair, sighing while rubbing her temples.

"Why do I always need to be so nice?"

* * *

"Are you going to tell me what I want to hear or are we just going to stay silent?"

The moment Brandon walked into Master's room and exchanged greetings with the man, it stayed silent. Wether that was a good thing or a bad thing was something Brandon didn't know.

"Of course I am," he said, rummaging in his pocket. He took out a pendant, the blue crystal shining brilliantly.

Brandon's eyes narrowed, wondering where Master was going with the pendant.

"Remember when I asked you to look after a small box years ago?" Master asked.

Brandon raised his eyebrows, wanting to snap at Master for asking such a stupid question. But he decided against that and answered the man's question. "Of course. I needed to bring that thing with me wherever I went and I wasn't allowed to look what was inside it."

"This," Master said, lifting the pendant, "is what was inside. And you weren't allowed to look because the time wasn't right yet."

"And that pendant has what exactly to do with what I want to know?"

"Because this pendant created your Pendulum monsters," Master answered. "But in order to find out if you were suitable for its powers, I had to do it like that."

"But, then when did it happen? I'm sure I must have noticed somehow."

"It happened during a duel a couple of years ago. You were busy rising through the ranks of All-Star Trinity at a rapid pace," Master recalled, the memories bringing a smile to his face. "At that time, the pendant granted you its power, turning Odd-Eyes Dragon into Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon and granting you Starstream Dragon and Timestream Dragon, just like how it had created the Pendulum monsters I give out to the Master Rank duelists."

"But still. How did you notice while I didn't?"

"Because you were dueling. And beside that, you didn't use Odd-Eyes Dragon during that duel and you didn't draw the three said monsters either," Master clarified. "I, however, noticed the pendant shining, even from within the box. And so, I knew that it accepted you."

Brandon raised his eyebrows again, lips slightly parted. "Accepted me for what?"

"You need to see for yourself." Master threw him the pendant and he quickly caught it, letting it dangle in front of his face. "Until you find out, it's the best if you wear it."

While it all sounded very 'strange' and the pendant looked quite flashy in a way, meaning he would definitely draw attention with it, he still decided to wear it. It held a relation to Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon, one of his favorite dragons, which meant that it probably had some bigger meaning. And because Master didn't want to tell him, he didn't have any choice. He had to find out on his own.

"It feels strange," he suddenly said. "Normally it's just my dogtag that people see dangling there."

"You'll get used to it eventually. Master stood up from his chair, making Brandon raise his eyebrows. "Now that you're here, how about we start your training?"

Taking out his Duel Disk, he equipped it to his wrist, smirking. "If you insist."

* * *

Sighing, Riley returned her deck on her desk. The tournament was coming soon, which meant that all eyes would be on her when it would be her turn to duel. And that certainly was a thing she didn't look forward to. If only she liked attention as much as Emily, or being able to laugh it off like James, or just pretend it isn't even there like Brandon. It would help her dueling out a lot.

About to start working on her homework for tomorrow, she heard a knock on the door. She let out a groan at first, then sighing.

"You can come in," she said, hearing the doorknob turn. Expecting it to be her mom, she turned turned her chair towards the door. "What is it, m— Oh, Emily..."

Noticing the tone in her voice, said girl frowned. "What? You're not glad to see me?"

"I am, it's just that..." Riley paused for a moment, before saying, "we don't really talk anymore because of what happened."

"I know and that's kind of why I'm here." Taking a seat on Riley's bed, Emily began to explain. "I was just... upset and disappointed. As my sister I expected you to tell me when I needed to do things different, not turn your back against me like that."

"I know, but I just... I didn't want to make you think you were bad at what you were doing," Riley admitted.

"But you did by voting against me," Emily pointed out. "It really hurted me."

"I know and I'm sorry for that," Riley said, shooting her an apologatic smile. "I'll promise to talk to you whenever something is wrong."

A smile painted Emily's features, and she gave her sister a nod. "Thank you."

"Does this mean we're sisters again?" asked Riley, a hopeful tone in her voice.

"Forever," she confirmed, catching her in a hug. "Sisters need each other after all."

Riley let out a short laugh. She was glad she had her sister back.

Emily quickly let go of her, a mischievous smile painting her face. "Now tell me: how are you and James?"

"Me and James?" Riley blinked a couple of times, her cheeks heating up before she cocked her head away. "There's nothing between us. He's annoying, irresponsible and childish. We're just friends."

"Sure you are," Emily teased, smiling. "I saw the two of you talking on the van after your qualification duel and you seemed to quite enjoy it."

Cheeks heating up, the brunette quickly opened her school books, pretending to start on her homework. "We're just friends."

"If you say so," Emily said, laughing. She playfully rolled her eyes and stood up, stretching. "Well, I need to meet Kate for the last preparations, so I'll be going now."

Riley gave a short nod, pretending to be busy with her homework.

Emily smiled as she left the room, silently closing the door so Riley could 'work' on her homework.

* * *

He moved from left to right, hoping to dodge every attack aimed at him. Because of his fatigue and the speed of the attacks, however, that was unable, and he got hit by each attack, one hurting more than the other.

The final one hit him straight in the stomache, blasting him away.

"Nghh," he went as he skidded over the ground, coming to a stop not to long after.

His life fell to 0 and he knew he lost. Again.

He spread his arms out wide, panting slightly as he stared at the sky while remaining still in the grassfield they were at. "I didn't even get the chance to summon one of my Dimensional Dragons..."

Master said nothing and watched him impassively, pondering on what to say. "6 duels and you're still unable to even deal damage to me. Seems you're not as good as your ego suggests."

"What a casual way to tell me I have an ego," Brandon sarcastically remarked, continuing to look at the sky.

"I don't blame you for having one. You are constantly seen and said to be a very talented duelist who's able to compete with the best," Master said. "However, you're still in the lower ranks of the Pro League because you only recently turned pro. The level of skill of other duelists around there are below average. I think it says more about their qualities than yours."

"What a casual way that I rose through the Pro League ranks because my opponents have no skill," he sarcastically replied.

"I'm not saying that you have no skill. But I'm not saying that you're skill is developed so much up to the point you can think that you can beat me," Master clarified, while the boy still didn't look at him. "A change of deck would help."

"I won't betray my dragons for another deck. You can forget about that," Brandon growled, who finally stopped panting.

"I don't mean that. I mean changing your deck up a bit," Master explained. "You're called the 'Dragonic Emperor'. However, you only use pure Dragon-type monsters. Might as well name yourself 'Dragon Emperor' instead."

"What are you getting at?"

"Add monsters that are dragons, but yet aren't. You already own a powerful one of those," Master said. "Also, add more cards that can support Dragon-type monsters. Wether they are Dragon-type themselves or not."

Brandon glanced to the side, noticed that Master began to walk away. He sat up, dusting the grass off his black v-neck, that was the only piece of upperclothing now that he had removed his bodywarmer after the second duel. "Wait."

Master stopped, not bothering to look back.

"Let's continue. At least until I managed to land an attack on you," he tried to convince, standing up. "Because I won't leave until you duel me again."

"There's nothing wrong with your determination it seems," Master stated, his lips curving into a smile. "Very well. Let's go then."

* * *

"Do you get that?"

"Drinks are in your office, which I need to close when I leave, the duel simulator is down the hallway, and all the other stuff I don't care about is unimportant so I don't need to know that."

"If you say so," sighed Kate, looking around one more time. While the Duel School was already open, the students mostly came in the afternoon on saturdays for some weird reason, Brandon however, decided to come early, so that he didn't need to stay until late.

Brandon wasn't really the person to cause destruction and chaos in an emtpy building all by himself, and so, she trusted on it that he could look after the Duel School until the other came too.

And well, Kate could do what she wanted until that time, so that was a nice bonus too.

"Make sure you don't cause any problems or destroy something. That goes for the duel simulator, too. I know how destructive you can be in your duels," Kate informed, shooting him a stern look.

The blond simply gave a nod. "Got it."

"Alright. I'm off then." Opening the door, Kate raised her eyebrows. At the other side stood Emily, arm extended, and Kate guessed she had probably planned on opening the door. "Oh, Emily. What are you doing here?"

"I realized that I forgot something the other day about the party," she clarified, walking in. Upon doing so, she noticed a familiar blond, his crimson eyes meeting her blue ones. "Oh, Brandon."

"Just call me 'Kanbara'," he insisted, before smirking. "And, yo, Ems."

Emily turned around to talk to Kate, but the moment the blonde opened her mouth, Kate stopped her with a hand gesture. "Actually, can it wait? There's nobody here for the time being and I'm going to do my own business now."

"But, I came all the way to here. Then what am I supossed to do?" she asked, blinking her eyes in disbelief.

"You can stay with Brandon, he'll be looking after the Duel School until I'm back," Kate explained, gesturing to said boy, who had sat down on a low bench. "I think a little bit of company won't hurt him."

Emily pondered on her options: going home and returning later, or, stay and try to discover things about the quite mysterious boy. Which one to choose shouldn't even be a question.

"I think I'll just stay here." Feeling thirsty, she turned to the blond. "Brandon. How about we get some milkshakes?"

The boy shot up, walking towards the door, passing both Kate and Emily.

"Where are you going?" Kate asked.

"Getting my priorities straight," he answered, walking out of the door. "And that's getting a vanilla milkshake."

She noticed Emily following, and she frowned again. "And where do you think you're going?"

"With him," she said, pointing in the direction Brandon left in. "It was my idea to get them."

It made Kate rethink her decision of leaving the Duel School to two teens who would seem to even stop fighting in a war just for a milkshake.

* * *

Eldon went through his deck once again. Once again, he found all of his beloved monsters that had been with him for quite a long time.

But it seemed there was something missing in the deck of his beloved heroes. They had done very well for him, but, against Brandon's deck they got wiped out easily.

Not that it mattered to him, Brandon was his friend now and he was a really good duelist in his eyes, but the Elemental Heroes had a lot of possibilities to Fusion Summoning, and they were pretty much the reason he was in S-Rank right now. He was seen as the best duelist of S-Rank, and that was most certainly because of those same Heroes, too.

And because of constantly hearing that, his confidence had gotten a hit. A huge hit. The way Brandon's Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon's pierced through his Elemental Hero Nova Master... it all went to easy for the black dragon.

Maybe, just maybe, because he never had a challenge, and was being told he was the best duelist of Your Move, he might have gotten cocky without noticing, leading to a halt of his development as a duelist?

He let out a sigh as he placed his deck on the table, rubbing his temple in desperation. Was his lose just a one time incident or was it a sign?

Being absorbed in his thoughts, he didn't notice a blonde taking a seat across of him.

"Hey, Eldon."

The mention of his name freed him out of his thoughts, as he saw Michelle smiling at him. "Oh, Michelle. Hey."

"Well, that didn't sound too exciting," she said, laughing.

"I know," Eldon said, sighing. "Sorry about that."

"So, what's wrong?"

Eldon let out another sigh, not really willing to tell. But, Michelle was the leader of S-Rank, so it should be alright to tell her, right?

"Well, I kind of, after my loss to Brandon, feel that I need to improve my deck," Eldon admitted. "But well, I don't really know if my loss was just an incident or just really because of my deck..."

Michelle's lips parted for a moment, before she smiled again. "Well, Brandon is really good, too. But everybody loses sometimes, so you shouldn't worry about it. You're still the best duelist I know."

Eldon raised his eyebrows before smiling. That Michelle called him the best duelist she knew was good to him, especially after the display he had put up against Brandon. "Thank you."

Michelle simply smiled, staring at the boy. Something about him kept her captivated. Sure, he didn't have the stunning looks of Brandon, or the charm James somehow had, or the weird yet sometimes funny humor Lamar had, but still, there was just something about him that held her captivated.

But there was still Emily. No matter how captivated Michelle would be by Eldon, it would never be vice versa. Instead, Eldon hopelessly tried to continue convince Emily to go out with him. And everytime he tried he failed.

Which kind of made it a problem, especially when she entered the same room as them. Eldon noticed, and Michelle guessed he was probably going to go over to here and try to persuade here. Again.

But another person prevented that. Brandon soon joined her at the counter, and both seemed to have a discussion about something. However, they quickly ordered something, and both got their order soon after.

While Brandon looked displeased, Emily simply laughed it off. She then said something, making him look away.

To Michelle and Eldon it looked very much like a date. And that was Eldon's reason to be displeased. All those countless times he tried with the girl he has known for so many years failed, while a new boy who never really spoke that much succeeded immediately. But to his own surprise, it didn't hurt as much as he expected it. Sure, it stung a little bit that he had to try so often, and still failed, while a new boy succeeded so fast, but that was all really.

"Are they... on a date?" Michelle finally asked, after she managed to recover from her surprise. "I didn't really expect something like that."

"Me neither," Eldon admitted, taking another good look. "But it seems like it."

The both of them saw Emily say something to the boy and leaving while laughing. Brandon simply sighed before following at his own slow pace.

"Are you alright?" Michelle asked.

Eldon realized what she meant, and he nodded. "I am. Don't worry."

"Good."

The two simply exchanged smiles.

* * *

"I still can't believe you picked strawberry over vanilla."

The blond glanced to the side as he took a sip of his vanilla milkshake, finding another blonde do the same, but of a strawberry milkshake instead of a vanilla one.

"That's because strawberry is clearly the better taste," Emily boasted, holding up her strawberry milkshake for emphasis.

"Yeah, when vanilla isn't available anymore," Brandon replied. "Until then, vanilla stands on top."

"On top, right underneath strawberry," Emily countered. "Besides, vanilla isn't **that **delicious."

Brandon, who took a sip of his milkshake, widened his eyes. He blinked a couple of times, before removing the straw from his mouth. "Take that back."

Emily smirked, taking a sip of her own milkshake. "Make me."

Crimson eyes narrowed as he took another sip of his milkshake, while Emily's narrowed in a playful manner before she took off.

How unfortunate for her that Brandon was way faster than her, enabling him to catch up to her. As a last resort, she hid in one of the many rooms in the hallway, but unfortunately, Brandon noticed her going there, and followed.

Inside of the room was... stuff that Brandon would most definitely call trash. He didn't know what all the stuff was, but he wouldn't go and find it out. Instead, he spotted the blonde he followed, getting closer.

Emily noticed him coming closer, but also that the door began to close. And if the door would close, it would be a bad thing.

"Don't let the door close!"

"Hm?"

The boy turned around, seeing how the door closed, and he shrugged. "Don't worry." He walked towards the door, grabbing the doorknob and turning it, or well, he thought he did. "Lo— Wait a minute. Where's the doorknob?"

"There's no doorknob," Emily pointed out. "The only doorknob is the one at the other side."

Brandon's eye began to twitch and he felt he landed in a bad, cliché scene of an anime.

* * *

"Really? That's amazing!"

The man clothed in black nodded once again, even though he didn't seem too enthusiastic about it. "But don't hold them up for too long. They also have other stuff to do."

"Don't worry. Everything will be settled nicely," Kate assured, shooting the man a smile.

"Good."

Kate complimented herself inwardly. The children will love what she had planned for sure.

* * *

The blond popped one eye open again, using it to scan the stuff in the room.

Luckily there was something he could sit on, or well, lie down on. But all the other stuff was as good as trash. Why did they keep that stuff anyway?

"Why didn't you get it fixed?"

"Hm?"

"The doorknob. You guys should have fixed it."

"Don't blame the not present doorknob! You're the reason we're in here!" Emily reminded. "If you wouldn't have let the door close, we wouldn't be stuck in here!"

"And if you guys would have gotten the doorknob fixed, it wouldn't be a problem to let the door close," Brandon pointed out, the tone in his voice the same as his usual calm tone, despite the fact that he was extremely annoyed. "Besides, you're the one who ran towards this room and decided to try to hide in it. So don't blame only me. We're both guilty of our situation."

He took another sip of his milkshake, or well, he wanted to. But then he noticed the cup was empty, making him growl while he threw the empty cup to the side. "Great. Just great. Now I don't have a milkshake anymore."

Emily sighed. Instead of trying to find a way out, Brandon complained about his milkshake instead. She began to wonder if he really was more mature than the other boys of S-Rank.

"For how long have we been stuck here?" Emily wondered out loud, prompting the other blond to take out his Duel Disk to check the time.

"Three and a half hours," he answered, putting it away. "And my Duel Disk is still unable to make connection so we're unable to message someone."

"Stupid doorknob," Emily sighed, rubbing her temples. "We really should have gotten it fixed."

"Then why didn't you?"

"Because," she started, letting out another sigh, "our Duel School isn't as strong financially as LDS or All-Star Trinity. An in comparison to them in overall, we're a small Duel School. And fixing one doorknob, which will be the newest model, will require all other doorknobs to be changed too. Which means that it will cost quite some money, and we also need that for other things."

"I see."

"Therefore, Kate often decides on things that are important and things that are unimportant and makes sure the important things get settled while the unimportant ones kind of get neglected," Emily explained.

"I think it's clear that we've proven that this doorknob is very important."

The fact that they couldn't even properly afford a doorknob because of several reasons made Brandon wonder.

Was it really okay to prevent this Duel School from reaching far in the tournament, that could earn them a large sum of money that could improve their financial status?

"Yeah, I guess we did." She let out a short laugh and Brandon closed his eyes again, shifting slightly as he laid down with his face facing the ceiling with his arms behind his head. Emily was surprised how someone could be so relaxed with being locked in a room they might not get out of for quite some time.

She was sure she would've known if she knew him better. A lot better. The only thing she knew about him was his age, where he lived, and his name. That wasn't much for someone who had been with S-Rank for quite some time now.

"What Duel School did you go before?"

Brandon opened his eyes, getting up before he glanced to the sides. What would he come up with today?

"Well, I did try to get into All-Star Trinity, but I didn't even come close to making it, so I went to another Duel School," he explained, even though that was far from the truth. "And now I'm here."

All-Star Trinity? If even Brandon couldn't get into that Duel School, than who could?

A silence fell once again, just like Brandon's eyelids. Emily simply glanced at the boy.

Starting a conversation with him will be more difficult than she expected.

* * *

In the time that followed, she managed to learn a lot about him.

She discovered that his favorite color was red, his favorite animal was a tiger (He told her so after she had convinced him that dragons weren't real animals), he played soccer, and his favorite thing to do was probably sleeping. And like that, she had learnt many other things about him.

The only thing she didn't learn about him was how he was able to corner her in a duel so easily.

The cards were still positioned on the floor, Brandon's field being perfect compared to hers.

"I attack directly with Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon," he calmly declared, using one of his set cards to disable her backrow. It marked his win.

"Well, Cap, what did you think?" he playfully asked. "Am I a good enough duelist for you?"

"You're... decent," she answered. "And don't call me 'cap'. You know I don't have that position anymore."

"Right. Sorry about that." It stayed silent for a while, until the crimson-eyed boy spoke up again. "So how's it going with the others?"

"We're good. I'm speaking to everyone again. I made up with Riley recently, so that's great," she answered. "The only downside to it is that Eldon constantly asks me out again."

The blond smirked, actually feeling glad for her that she managed to made up with everyone. "That's good to hear. And about Eldon, just tell him you're not interested. I'm sure he'll understand."

"Trust me, he won't. I tried to make it clear to him, but he just won't get it," Emily said, an annoyed look on her face.

"Ever thought he asks you out all the time so that he can get closer to you? Sure, it might also be because he has a crush on you, but he might also do it so he can get closer to you," Brandon explained. "I mean, you know each other for quite some years from what I understand, and you don't seem to be that close."

"But how am I supposed to get closer to him when I don't like him in the way he likes me?" Emily asked.

"Who said something about liking in a certain way?" Brandon asked, an amused smirk painting his features. "Just try to be his friend first."

"Friend, huh? Hmmmm, I guess that can work," she admitted, shortly after, she began to laugh. "But that sounds really funny coming from someone who doesn't try to make friends."

Brandon simply sent her a smirk as response, shooting a look at his cards. "Because I don't need friends. I already have friends in my deck. They will never let me down."

Emily raised her eyebrows at his words. Was the guy such a duel freak he preferred cards as friends above real people?

But there was a way to chance that if that was true.

"Are you coming to the party?"

"Party?"

He raised his eyebrows, looking up from his cards that were still positioned on the ground.

"Each year, Your Move has some sort of 'introduction party', because I started as the captain of S-Rank, I got the task of organizing it," she explained. "And as a member of Your Move Duel School, you're invited."

"I see, but I don't think I will come. I'm kind of busy."

When the words escaped his mouth, he actually realized he used that excuse a lot lately against people of Your Move. He should really come up with more excuses.

Emily was about to say something, but the two heard clattering from outside, both turning their face towards the door.

And after a little bit of more rattling, the door opened. In the doorpost stood Kate, who shot the two a stern look before sighing.

"I entrust you to look after the Duel School once, and you get yourself locked in a room," she said, rather unamused.

"My bad," Brandon apologized, beginning to collect his cards from the floor. When he had all of them collected, he walked towards the door, looking through the look one more time, Emily still sitting on the floor.

The day had actually been quite cosy with the girl, for as far as you could call locked in a room with no way out cosy. And the party actually didn't sound all too bad. And the people of Your Move weren't that bad either. Still, he didn't like them, but he didn't hate them either. Unlike Justin, who he hated with a passion unbeknownst to man, animal, and Duel Monster alike.

"You know what, message me all the information I need about the party," he said, surprising the blonde that was still sitting on the floor. "I'll drop by if I can, but I can't promise anything. And Miss Kate, thanks for freeing us and sorry that this happened. But you might want to get that doorknob fixed."

And then he was gone.

But Emily had discovered he definitely wasn't **that** anti-social as he seemed.

* * *

**I know, this wasn't as action packed as the previous chapter, but I have some action coming up in the next chapters, so stay tuned for that. **

**I hope you enjoyed this chapter and I wish all of you a nice day.**

**See ya!**


	22. Chapter 22

**I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh! Arc-V. I only own my OCs.**

* * *

Quintuple trouble.

* * *

The two teens got out their Duel Disks the moment they heard the noise that it made when a message was received.

Kai quickly put away his after he discovered he wasn't the one that got a message, but his blond companion instead.

Said blond opened the message, reading it with a bored look.

_From: Beaton, Emily_

_To: Kanbara, Brandon_

_Subject: Party_

_As promised, here is the information about the party:_

_Held at: Your Move Duel School_

_Time: 12:00 - 20:00_

_Things to take with you: Your deck_

_I hope you can make it._

_Emily :)_

Having read the message, he quickly put it away before Kai could see it. Unfortunately, Kai being Kai, Brandon was bound to get asked about in anyway.

"Who was that?" he asked, raising his eyebrows.

"Emily," he answered. "She messaged me information about a party they're organizing."

"She invited you?" he asked. "To her party? That only means one thing!"

"What?"

"We need to buy a present?"

"'We'?" Brandon repeated, one eyebrows raised. "I'm not even planning on going. And it's not a birthday party, so a present isn't nece— Pearson, let go of my arm now."

"Don't be such a killjoy!" Kai urged, grinning. "And presents are definitely necessary for a party!"

"It isn't," Brandon countered, but he knew he wouldn't be able to convince Kai. "And in case you forgot, because of all the training with Master, I never celebrated my 8th, 9th, 10th, 11th, 12th, 13th, 14th, and 15th birthday and never celebrated anyone else's birthday since my 7th. I don't even know what to buy people for these sorts of occassions."

"Don't worry! Your bestest buddy Kai Pearson is here!" he exclaimed, pounding his chest with his other fist. "I got this!"

"And that's exactly the problem," Brandon deadpanned. "You ain't got nothing..."

"Don't be so negative! You'll see that I got this!" Kai insisted, dragging the boy further.

This would be a long day.

* * *

"Remember, no flashy duels. You have important duels coming up, play duels like these don't matter."

"I know," one of the five boys, and judging from it one of the two oldest said. The one next to him, that seemed to be the same age, turned towards two other boys.

"But do you two get that?"

"We do!" they answered, turning to the youngest boy. "And you probably do to, but you probably will ignore that."

"We'll see," he said, smiling. "Because he is probably there, you'll never know."

"Who exactly?"

The boys lips curved into a smile, eyes full of excitement. "Kanbara-kun."

The manager sighed. If said boy would really be there, the youngest brother really needed to hold it back a bit. Not because his opponent would need that, but because there were duels coming up that actually mattered.

"Listen, you can duel him," the manager began, while the youngest brother's smile became even wider, "but you need to hold back a bit. As I said, there are important duels coming up and you can't afford to mess those up!"

"I understand, don't worry."

The managed nodded in response. "We can take off then."

The boy simply looked out of the window as they made their way towards their destination, the blond boy still dwelling in his mind.

_'Watch out Kanbara-kun. I'm coming for you.'_

* * *

"I'm blaming you for this, Pearson..."

He had dragged the stupid present all the way from his home to Your Move. On the way to the Duel School people had constantly been shooting him weird looks, which he ignored, but still, it didn't do good for his reputation.

Luckily for him, there was no one in Your Move Duel School because they were all at the party.

If only he could find that room, too, he didn't need to drag that stupid present for any longer.

Ahhhh~, the struggles of a newbie.

* * *

Emily nervously watched all the people. It seemed that everybody enjoyed themselves, so that was a good thing.

"Emily!"

"Hm?"

"Nice party," Stephanie complimented.

"Of course it is," the blonde replied. "I'm the one who organized it."

"High five, girl!"

The two girls high-fived, holding smug smiles on their faces.

But those smug smiles changed to an expression of surprise and shock when a big blue bear walked into the room, earning weird looks from every person in the room.

The bear was then placed on the ground, revealing the person that dragged it in. A blond boy slightly leaned against the bear that was easily his size, panting slightly as he wiped the small drops of sweat from his forehead.

"Darn you, Pearson..." he growled. "My reputation is going to a solid negative value now..."

James, Lamar and Eldon walked up to him, began to laugh, while James cocked his head to the side. "What's this all about?"

"Kai made me do this," he answered, hiding behind the bear.

"Don't even worry about." James let out a short laugh, before he shot Lamar and Eldon a nod, who nodded in return. "Nothing to see here!"

"Yup! You can all go back to partying now!" Eldon added.

"Just ignore the big blue bear and you'll be fine!" finished Lamar.

Brandon was ready to move to Mexico and change his name, convinced that it wouldn't work, but to his own surprise it did, and everything went back to minding their own business.

The blond heaved a sigh of relief, continuing to lean against the bear. "Thanks, guys. I owe you one."

"Don't even worry about it," James insisted, catching him in a headlock, ruffling his hair. "Everything for my boy!"

"Even if that means that we will be seen with the person who brought that bear in," Eldon added, grinning.

"I just hope it's not a dangerous one," Lamar joked, making James and Eldon laugh while Brandon smirked.

From a distance, Daniel watched it, a girl standing next to him.

"Shouldn't you be with them?" she asked. "I mean, you're their friend too, right?"

"Yeah, I guess just not as much as that guy is," he answered, shooting said blond a glare even though he didn't see it.

The girl simply shot Daniel a worried look as he continued to send dirty looks to the crimson-eyed blond.

The three boys stopped laughing, glancing at the bear.

"Who's the bear for, by the way?" James asked, elbowing him.

"And why is it here anyways?" Eldon asked.

"Kai thought the party I was invited for was a birthday party," the blond answered, recalling the stupid look on Kai's face that time. "And he dragged me along to go and buy a present."

"Did your friend even listen?" James asked, laughing.

"You've spoiled money now," Eldon pointed out.

"But you must admit, it's a pretty cool bear," Lamar said, letting out a nod because of his impressement.

"But still, for who is the bear?" James asked, shooting the boy a grin.

Brandon didn't answer him, and he seemed to haven't heard James as he was searching for someone.

"Um, hello? Dude?" He waved his hand in front of his face, hoping to draw his attention, but even that failed.

"I'm sorry, guys," the blond apologized, picking up the bear. "Got to go. I'll probably speak you later."

The boys shrugged as they saw him leave, continuing with what they were doing while Brandon went on to the person he was searching for.

After a little bit of staggering in the right direction, he placed the bear on the ground again, a blonde girl looking at it with raised eyebrows.

"You managed to make it!" she exclaimed, shooting him a smile. She then let out a laugh as she saw what he had brought with him. "Nice bear."

"Thanks," he went, smirking. "Nice party. Even though the weird looks aren't necessary. And what are all these young kids doing here?"

"Of course, I organized it," she said, repeating what she had said earlier to Stephanie. "And about the weird looks: what did you expect? Walking in with a bear your own size like that."

She let out another laugh while the boy scratched the back of his head. "Yeah... I guess you're right. But that still doesn't explain all the young kids here."

"Well, whole Your Move is invited, that includes J-Rank too," she explained, earning a surprised look from the crimson-eyed boy.

"We have a J-Rank?" he asked out loud. "Didn't knew something like that existed."

"Guess what, it does. And I and others of S-Rank have been in it," she said. She then shot a look at the bear. "But, what about that thing? I don't think you took it with you for fun."

"No, actually Kai forced me to buy it. He thought the party you invited me to was your birthday party," Brandon explained, pushing the bear into her direction. "So here."

"That... is for me?" she asked, eyebrows raised.

"Yeah, because of what I just said," he clarified, but upon noticing her suprised reaction he began to wonder if Kai's idea was a good one. He actually scratched that. Kai's ideas were never good. "But I can return it if you don't want it. It's not your birthday, anyway and why would someone even want this bigass bear in the firstplace?"

"You can place it in the corner over there."

"Eh?"

"You heard me," she said, pointing at a corner. "Just place the bear there."

"If you say so." He shrugged before picking it up once again, transporting it to the designated corner. He then shot the bear a smug smirk. "Goodbye and until never again, stupid bear..."

He was glad that he finally managed to get rid of it, and Kai would definitely get his butt kicked for making him do all this. But there was one more burning question for the blond.

Why would Emily want that bear, though?

* * *

_From: Master_

_To: Kanbara, Brandon_

_Subject: Party_

_There's a 'surprise' coming up to that party you're attending. I already informed the 'surprise' about you temporarily changing Duel Schools. He will also not refer to All-Star Trinity or your title as Dragonic Emperor. _

_Master_

"A surprise?" he repeated, raising an eyebrow. "Who could that be?"

"Who could who be?"

He quickly put his Duel Disk away, answering the girl. "No one."

"If you say so," she said, smiling.

"Shouldn't you be with the others, Michelle?" he asked.

"Well, I saw you standing here on your own, so I decided to join you. I don't really want anyone to feel left out," she explained, shooting him a smile. "So are you enjoying Your Move?"

"It's okay. There's still a lot here to get used to, but that won't me that much of a problem," he said, still wondering why these guys had a J-Rank while All-Star Trinity didn't. "How about you? You're new too if I remember correctly."

"Uh-huh. But because of you not the 'newbie' anymore, so thank you for that." She let out a short laugh while he simply smirked. She then answered his question. "I'm enjoying it here, only my relation with Emily and Stephanie is a little bit rocky, but I guess I can understand a little bit."

"I don't see what's wrong with being a 'newbie', because for one you're doing quite good. You're the leader of S-Rank, whereas I chill in a corner," he joked, smirking.

"It's hard work, though. All the responsibility and getting everyone quiet," she complained. "I really wonder how Emily managed to keep it up for so long."

"Maybe if it's so heavy, you should ask her to help you," the blond suggested, earning a pair of raised eyebrows from Michelle. "You are more of the nice one while she is the stern one. I think that can work pretty well."

"That actually sounds pretty good," she admitted, staring at said girl. But she, and everyone else, got snapped to attention after they heard someone clap their hands.

"Everyone, gather around please."

Everyone gathered in a circle around Kate, waiting in anxiety for what she was going to say.

"I have something fun for all of you." She saw everyone shooting looks at each other, muttering to each other, and some waiting in excitement for her to announce. She turned her head towards the door, the corners of her mouth tugging into a smile. "You can come in now."

The mouths of many fell open as they saw five men walked in, the two oldest, followed by twins, who were followed by the youngest boy of the five.

"That are..." James began, still not believing what he saw.

"The Dyon brothers!" Riley finished, letting out a weird shriek.

Brandon looked at the brunette wide-eyed, pointing at her. "That noise came out of you...? I'm starting to question if you're human now..."

"She's a big fan of them," Emily informed, remembering all the posters in her room and all the times that Riley made her watch their duels on television.

"Oh really?" James asked, beginning to recover from his laughter. He placed his hand on Riley's back, shoving her slightly forward. "Then go say 'hi' to them!"

Riley felt herself being shoved forward slightly, leaning on her right leg to prevent her from being pushed out of the circle to end up in front of the Dyon brothers.

She quickly turned to James, an unamused expression on her face. "Where was that for?"

"You're a fan of them, just go and say 'hi'!" he urged, trying to shove her towards them once again.

"No, James! Stop it!" she protested, causing the brothers, who were busy signing autographs from other members, to look at them.

"Don't fight for an autograph!" he ordered, the annoyed look on his face not going unnoticed. "You'll all get one!"

Not having heard him, the two continued their arguing, annoying the guy even more. "Hey! Are you even listening?! Do you even know who we are?!"

"Nii-san, calm down please. I've heard from mom that you and Will have been like that when you were younger," the youngest boy informed, who was being stared at by Brandon.

_'So you're the surprise, Matt,'_ Brandon inwardly spoke, smirking to himself.

The twins began to snicker, as a terrified look found its way to Will's face. "Mom told you about that?! Darn it!"

"No offense, but," Brandon started, stepping forward from the big circle of people, standing eye in eye with the brothers, "what exactly are you here for? I don't take it you're here to tell each other stories you heard about each other from your parents."

"Exactly. Kate asked us to come here for a simple reason," Will answered, eyes narrowing. "And that's to duel."

"Duel?" Chloe repeated.

"Against professional duelists?" Daniel added.

The youngest boy nodded, grinning widely. He then pointed at the crimson-eyes boy, shocking everyone with his action. "And you will be **my** opponent, Kanbara-kun."

"But you two have to wait," the second oldest brother said, stepping forward. "Because Will and I, and Ren and Ken will duel first since ours are tag duels, which take longer."

The boy crossed his arms, mumbling something under his breath. "Just because I'm the youngest doesn't mean I always have to duel as the last one..."

"And the way to choose our opponent is easy," Will said. "Who wants to volunteer to duel me and Logan?"

* * *

Eldon looked back to where the members of S-Rank stood, seeing James shooting him a thumbs up with a grin.

The blond couldn't apprecriate it and shot back a glare, shaking his head. James simply shrugged it off, and Eldon looked back ahead.

Two of the five Dyon brothers, Logan and Will, the two oldest and the ones that are loved just as much as their three brothers at the pro circuit stood across of him and Michelle, their Duel Disks equipped.

And because James shoved him forward when Will asked if there were any volunteers, he was now about to oppose them.

"You ready?" Will asked, earning a short and unsure nod of both Eldon and Michelle.

"They'd better be," Brandon commented, taking a step forward while everyone turned their hands to them. "Will and Logan Dyon. They run decks Kai modelled his deck after: Mermail and Sea Emperor. Two decks that work amazingly well together."

"Kai is that Hyper Rank duelist of All-Star Trinity, right?" Paris asked.

The blond nodded, and everyone thought back to that duel in which he took on said boy, surprising everyone by using Fusion Summon, but the Xyz monster that Kai played back then, had quite the effect, which could definitely cause trouble for Eldon and Michelle.

Meanwhile on the duel field, the 4 duelists activated their Duel Disks, the tag team rules still fresh in their mind.

"DUEL!"

**Will and Logan (4000) versus Eldon and Michelle (4000)**

"My turn!" Will declared, immediately discarding two cards from his hand. "By discarding Abyss Soldier and Abyss Warrior, I can Special Summon Mermail - Megaloabyss from my hand!"

Mermail - Megaloabyss, Level 7, 2400/1900

"Now that Megaloabyss is summoned this way, I can add one Abyss magic or trap card to my hand." A single card emerged from Will's deckholder, said man adding it to his hand. He then picked a card out of his hand, slotting it into his magic and trap card zone. "I set one card and end my turn."

"My turn! Draw!" Eldon declared, immediately playing the card that he drew. "I activate Fusion! Fusing Elemental Hero Captain Gold and the Fusion substitute Devil King of the Swamp!"

The two monsters appeared behind Eldon in front of a swirling vortex, slowly beginning to disappear inside of it as Eldon began to chant.

**"Golden-armored hero! Become one with the Fusion substitute so that the hero of darkness can take the center stage! Fusion Summon! Appear, level 8! Elemental Hero Escuridao!"**

In front of Michelle and Eldon landed a black hero, its right claw, compared with its left, looking more like some sort of a devilish cannon instead of a claw.

Elemental Hero Escuridao, Level 8, 2500/2000

"Elemental Hero Escuridao gains 100 attack for each Elemental Hero in my graveyard," Eldon explained. "Elemental Hero Captain Gold makes one, so Escuridao gains 100 attack."

Elemental Hero Escuridao: 2500 → 2600

"I attack Megaloabyss with Escuridao!" Eldon declared, pointing at said monster as Escuridao began to charge a dark beam in its 'cannon'. "Dark Diffusion!"

Escuridao unleashed its beam at the red megalodon, but the attack splashed off its armor. Afterwards, Megaloabyss stormed off towards Escuridao smashing its sword into the black hero's gut, destroying it.

Eldon and Michelle: 4000 → 3200

Eldon simply tilted his head to the side, frowning at what just happened. "Huh? How?"

It was only then that he noticed that Will's trap had flipped open, likely being the cause of Escuridao's destruction.

"The trap Abysscorn increases the attack of a Mermail monster with a 1000 until the end phase," Will explained. "Because of that, Escuridao's attack was lower than Megaloabyss'."

Eldon gritted his teeth as he activated another Magic card, as he had not planned to already use it right now, but in order to not leave an emtpy field, he had to. "I activate Hero Arrive! Now, by paying half my life, I can Special Summon one level 4 or lower Elemental Hero from my deck. Come, Elemental Hero Ocean!"

Eldon and Michelle: 3200 → 1600

A warrior that highly resembled a dolphin emerged onto the field, its staff glowing with a blue aura before he raised it up into the air when Eldon spoke up.

"I activate Elemental Hero Ocean's effect! I can return one Hero in my graveyard and return it to my hand," Eldon explained, holding one card in his hand, revealing it before he added it to his hand. "The Hero I returned is Captain Gold. And now, using its effect, I discard it to add a Field Magic to my hand."

He discarded Captain Gold, adding a Magic card to his hand. Then, he smirked, slotting it into his Magic and Trap card zone. "I activate the Field Magic, Skyscraper!"

Multiple skyscrapers shot out the ground, darkening the duel field somewhat, while the bright lights of the Field Magic making it able for everyone to see the duel field clearly

"I set one card and end my turn."

"My turn! Draw!" Logan slapped a card on his monster card zone, and just like Elemental Hero Ocean, a dolphin-like monster appeared on the field. "I summon Warrior of Atlantis!"

Warrior of Atlantis, Level 4, 1900/1200

Logan then pointed at Elemental Hero Ocean, as Atlantis began to take aim with the crossbow equipped to its arm. "I attack Ocean with Warrior of Atlantis!"

The arrow Atlantis fired headed for Ocean, who simply smashed it away with its scepter, the arrow getting stuck in one of the skyscrapers. Then, Ocean hit atlantis with its scepter, destroying it.

Will and Logan: 4000 → 3400

Eldon noticed the slightly confused expressions of both Will and Logan and he began to explain. "Skyscraper increases the attack of an Elemental Hero that battles with a monster that has higher attack than itself with a 1000!"

Elemental Hero Ocean: 1500 → 2500

"I set one card and end my turn."

Will shook his head, bringing the palm of his hand to his forehead. "How could you be so careless?"

"Small mistake on my side," Logan admitted. "But don't worry. We'll get back at them."

"My turn! Draw!" Michelle inspected her drawn card. Her archetype was anti-Special Summoning, and because of that, Eldon would be restricted too, despite sealing away some of their opponent's moves, too. But, she had to take the risk, right? "I activate the magic card, Fusion! With it, I fuse Shaddoll Dragon and Shaddoll Lizard!"

The two monsters appeared behind Michelle before disappearing into a swirling vortex.

**"Dark toy reptile! Become one with the emotionless dragon and give birth to the sorceress that flies on the back of a demonic dragon, restricting all allies that attempt to assist our enemies! Fusion Summon! Appear, level 5! El Shaddoll Midrash!"**

El Shaddoll Midrash, Level 5, 2200/800

"I set one card and end my turn."

**Will and Logan: 3400, Cards x3 and cards x4**

**Eldon and Michelle: 3200, Cards x1 and cards x2**

"My turn! Draw!" Will looked at Michelle's monster again, beginning to smile to himself. "If I remember correctly these El Shaddolls of yours are anti-Special Summoning. Hm. Quite the challenge."

Will discarded one card from his hand, an armored green fish appearing. "I discard one Water monster to Special Summon Mermail - Dinichabyss in defense position."

Mermail - Dinichabyss, Level 7, 1700/2400

"I attack Midrash with Megaloabyss!" Will declared, throwing his hand forward as the megalodon smashed its sword into Midrash.

"And because of that, now, we can Special Summon more than once this turn!" Will explained, immediately throwing his hand forward.** "Level 7 Megaloabyss, Dinichabyss, overlay! Xyz Summon! Appear, Rank 7! Mermail - Gaioabyss!"**

Mermail - Gaioabyss, Rank 7, 2800/1600, Overlay Units: 2

"I set one card and end my turn."

"My turn! Draw!" Eldon declared, immediately revealing his drawn card. "I activate Pot of Greed! This card allows me to draw two new cards."

He then revealed a magic card that he had earlier used during the duel. "I activate my second copy of Fusion! Fusing Elemental Hero The Heat and Elemental Hero Lady of Fire!"

"Another Fusion Summon," Brandon analyzed. "And on his second turn, too. Not bad."

**"Fiery hero of justice! Become one with the feminine flame and bring forth an entity that can evaporize even the greatest of oceans! Fusion Summon! Appear, level 8! Elemental Hero Flame Blast!"**

Elemental Hero Flame Blast, Level 8, 2300/1600

"Fusion Summoning a monster with lower attack than Gaioabyss," Logan noted, scratching the back of his head. "That's not the best of moves."

"Elemental Hero Flame Blast has a really cool effect when he battles with a Water monster," Eldon spoke, having definitely heard Logan's statement. "When he battles with a Water monster, he gains 1000 attack!"

"What?!"

Elemental Hero Flame Blast: 2300 → 3300

Flame Blast shot a gigantic ball of flames at Gaioabyss, and the moment it was about to make contact it disappeared in thin air, making both Michelle and Eldon raise their eyebrows.

"Huh?" they went in unison.

"Gaioabyss' effect prevents level 5 or higher monsters from attacking," Will clarified. "So unless you happen to have Xyz monsters, you're attacks are sealed for the time being."

Eldon took a step back with gritted teeth, slightly lowering his Duel Disk-ed arm. "Turn end..."

"Alright! My turn! Draw!" Logan declared, drawing his card in a very enthusiast manner. "I summon the level 2 Tuner monster Deep Sea Diva!"

Deep Sea Diva, Level 2, 200/400

"And Deep Sea Diva allows me to Special Summon one Sea Dragon-type monster from my deck when she's Normal Summoned," Logan explained, summoning an armored sea creature, holding two shields. "I Special Summon Heavy Infantry of the Sea Emperor! And Heavy Infantry allows me an additional Normal Summon or Set this turn."

The moment Logan said that, he picked another card out of his hand, slapping it on the armblade. "I Normal Summon Sharpshooting Soldier of the Sea Emperor!"

Heavy Infantry of the Sea Emperor, Level 2, 0/1600

Sharpshooting Soldier of the Sea Emperor, Level 3, 1400/0

Brandon's eyes narrowed, obviously noticing the three monsters Logan had brought out. And because of Kai, he knew exactly what this meant.

Logan's lips curved into a smug smile as he raised his hand into the air, a confident look settling in his eyes. "I release Deep Sea Diva, Heavy Infantry and Sharpshooting Soldier! Advance Summ— Eh?"

Everyone suddenly heared a buzzer, and Logan and Will immediately deactivated their Duel Disks.

"Sorry about this," Will immediately apologized, giving a quick bow. "But our manager doesn't allow us to have long duels and he doesn't allow us to go all out either."

"Which is a shame, because I was about to get my ace out," Logan added in a sulking tone, heaving a sigh afterwards.

"Anyways," Will continued, ignoring Logan, "because there are still my three little brothers that are craving for a duel too, we have to obey to the given timelimit of our duels. Sorry once again."

"Ah, it's fine," Eldon assured, shooting an understanding smile. "It was fun for as long as it lasted."

Michelle nodded in acknowledgement. She then bowed. "Thanks for taking the time to duel us."

"No problem," the two brothers said, both flashing a smile.

Then the two twins entered the duel field, both grinning. "Now then, Logan-nii, Will-nii, if you would like to step aside, that would be great."

"What you want, brats," Logan growled, returning to the side of his youngest brother.

"The two guys that will duel us..." Keith began. "Who will be the unlucky guys?"

* * *

**Elemental Hero Flame Blast has its Manga-effect, just like Escuridao. Skyscraper has its anime effect.  
**

**The Dyon brothers last name comes from the family Dionne, the first ever quintuplets to have survived their infancy, reflecting on the fact that the Dyon brothers are with the 5 of them, despite not being quintuplets.**

**I hope you enjoyed this chapter and I wish you a nice day.**

**See ya!**


	23. Chapter 23

**I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh! Arc-V. I only own my OCs.**

* * *

The ultimate yakitori combo!

* * *

"Do I really have to do this?"

The blond glared at him, giving a slow nod. "Just take your responsibility for that action on Eldon."

"Fine."

"But why do I have to be punished for James' irresponsibility!?"

The blonde placed her hands on her hips, giving her a stern look. "Because of you and James, they are dueling us."

"Are we still going to duel or what?"

One of the two twins impatiently tapped his foot, while the other yawned.

"Come on! We're getting bored!" He stopped tapped with his right foot, continuing with his left foot instead.

The other took off the hood of his orange hoodie, one that the other had in yellow, and grinned. "Don't mind him! We're just excited and we'd like to start as soon as possible!"

"It's hard to believe those two are really 18..." Stephanie muttered.

The 4 activated their Duel Disks, making use of the same rules Logan and Will, and Eldon and Michelle had used during their duel.

"DUEL!"

**Seth and Keith (4000) versus James and Riley (4000)**

"Alright! Finally! My turn!" Seth declared, picking a card out of his hand. "I summon Haze Beast Cerberus, who can be Normal Summoned without release but with its attack at 1000, in defense position!"

Haze Beast Cerberus, Level 6, 1000/200

"I set one card and end my turn!"

"My turn! Draw! I summon Breaker, the Magical Warrior!"

Breaker, the Magical Warrior, Level 4, 1600/1000

"Upon Breaker's summoning, one Spell Counter is placed on him," James explained, a purple wave of energy surrounding Breaker. "And for each Spell Counter on him, Breaker gains 300 attack!"

Breaker, the Magical Warrior: 1600 → 1900

"Breaker, attack Cerberus!" James ordered, the magical warrior piercing its blade through the monster's head. Breaker returned to James' side after it had destroyed Cerberus, and James picked a card out of his hand. "I set one card and end my turn."

"My turn! Draw! I summon Fire King Beast Yaksha!"

Fire King Beast Yaksha, Level 4, 1800/200

"I set one card and end my turn!"

"My turn! Draw!" Riley hesitated slightly before drawing, but after doing so, she immediately slapped a card on the arm blade. "I summon the level 2 Tuner monster Gusta Falco in defense position!"

Gusta Falco, Level 2, 600/1400

"I set one card and end my turn."

"Why didn't you attack with Breaker?" James asked, turning to her.

"Because it isn't..." Her eyes then widened as she remembered the rules. Dueling professional duelists was more nerve-wrecking for her than anything else. The fact that practically the whole Duel School was watching, didn't make things better. "Sorry, I forgot about that..."

**Seth and Keith: 4000, Cards x3 and cards x4**

**James and Riley: 4000, Cards x4 and cards x4**

"My turn! Draw!" Seth threw his right arm to the side, his set card flipping open. "Trap, activate! Haze Glory allows me to Normal Summon a Haze Beast for one less release."

Then, a 6-headed monster appeared on the field, a monster that was revealed to be a hydra. "I summon Haze Beast Hydra!"

Haze Beast Hydra, Level 6, 2300/200

"Now, Haze Beast Hydra, attack Breaker!" Seth ordered, the 6 heads each taking hold of a limb, sending a fiery venom into them.

James and Riley: 4000 → 3600

"Yaksha, attack Gusta Falco!" Yaksha kicked in on Falco, hitting it on the head as it let out a cry before its destruction.

"Turn end!"

"My turn! Draw!" James pondered his options quickly. He had a tactic, now only executing it right and completing it would be the key. "I discard one card to Special Summon The Tricky!"

The Tricky, Level 5, 2000/1200

"Then I summon the level 2 Tuner monster, Magical Ficialist!" James announced, slapping said monster's card on his arm blade.

Magical Ficialist, Level 2, 800/400

"I tune the level 5 The Tricky with the level 2 Magical Ficialist!" James declared, Ficialist sending out frequency waves before turning into tuning rings. ** "Let the magician destroy all that stands in it's way while maintaining it's supreme power! Synchro Summon! Appear, Level 7! Arcanite Magician!"**

Arcanite Magician, Level 7, 400/1800

"And when Arcanite Magician is Synchro Summoned, two Spell Counters are placed on him," James explained. "And for each Spell Counter on him, Arcanite Magician gains 1000 attack!"

Arcanite Magician: 400 → 2400

"I attack Haze Beast Hydra with Arcanite Magician!" James declared, the magician shooting an energy ball from its wand, the ball devouring Hydra upon contact.

Seth and Keith: 4000 → 3900

"Then I activate Arcanite Magician's second effect! By removing one Spell Counter, I can destroy to destroy one card of yours!" James explained, pointing at the trap he wanted to destroy. "Now, Arcanite Magician, destroy Haze Glory!"

Arcanite Magician: Spell Counters: 2 → 1

Arcanite Magician: 2400 → 1400

Arcanite Magician shot another ball from its wand, destroying said trap, as James grinned. "Now you can't get out Haze Beasts for free anymore!"

The twins shrugged in unison, slightly confusing James, but he just decided to go with it.

"Turn end."

"My turn! Draw!" Keith's trap flipped open, Yaksha disappearing as a green aura surrounded Keith. "Destruct Potion increases our life with the attack of Yaksha!"

Seth and Keith: 3900 → 5700

"And now, Yaksha's effect activates! WHen it is destroyed by a card effect, I can destroy one card in my hand!" Keith explained, discarding one card. "And then I activate the effect of Garudonix and Kirin in my hand! When a Fire King monster is destroyed, I can Special Summon them from my hand!"

A red garuda and a white qilin with the front body of a unicorn appeared on the field, the garuda letting out a cry before folding its wings.

Fire King Beast Garudonix, Level 3, 700/1700

Fire King Beast Kirin, Level 3, 1000/200

"I release Garudonix and Kirin!" Keith declared, Kirin and Garudonix disappearing, a large flame raging over the field as replacement. "Advance Summon! Fire King God Beast Garudonix!"

The fire shot up into the air, beginning to take the form of a large bird. Then, with a flap of wings, the 'fire armor' was thrown off, revealing a big phoenix underneath it.

Fire King God Beast Garudonix, Level 8, 2700/1700

James watched the phoenix with mouth agape, while Riley seemed very anxious. Everyone else at Your Move also watched in an impressed manner at the phoenix.

"Garudonix!" Keith shouted, the phoenix letting out a cry while taking off into the air. "Attack Arcanite Magician!"

Garudonix unleashed a mighty heat wave through a flap of its big wings, burning Arcanite Magician to its destruction.

James and Riley: 3600 → 2300

"I set one card and turn end!"

"M-my turn! D-draw!" She slapped the card on the monster card zone with a little bit of hesitation, a green haired girl with red highlights in her ponytail appearing on the field. "I summon Pirika, Divine Descendant of Gusta!"

Pirika, Divine Descendant of Gusta, Level 3, 1000/1500

"At this time, Pirika's effect activates! When she's Normal Summoned, I can Special Summon a Wind Tuner monster from my graveyard," Riley explained, the crystal on Pirika's staff glowing. "I summon back Gusta Falco!"

**"I tune the level 3 Pirika with the level 2 Gusta Falco!" **Riley announced, the same process as on James' turn earlier occurring. **"Destroy the enemies as you revive the clan of the wind! Let's get's our destruction on! Synchro Summon! Appear, Level 5! Diagusta Gulldos!"**

Daigusta Gulldos, Level 5, 2200/800

"I activate Gulldos' effect! By shuffling two Gusta monsters from my graveyard into my deck, I can destroy one card my opponent controls!" she explained, the staff of Gulldos' rider beginning to glow as Garudonix got enveloped in a green aura. The green-haired girl then shot an energy beam from her staff at the red phoenix, destroying it.

"I direct attack with Gulldos!" Riley declared, the green-haired girl riding Gulldos shooting a beam from her staff at Keith and Seth.

Seth and Keith: 5700 → 3500

"Turn end."

"Alright! My turn! Draw!" The moment Seth drew his card, the fire from before raged all over the field again, a fiery phoenix rising from the fire with a cry.

"Of course," Brandon spoke, eyes narrowing. "It's only natural that Garudonix would have a return effect like that. It isn't a phoenix for fun..."

"What the..." James went, the flames raging on the ground dying down.

"During the next standby phase Garudonix was destroyed by a card effect, he will rise from the ashes like the phoenix he is!" Seth explained, the fiery phoenix roaring off toward Riley and James' field. "But not before he has destroyed all your monsters with his effect!"

Daigusta Gulldos let out a cry as it got burned away, the fiery phoenix taking the appearance of Garudonix soon after.

"Then, I activate the magic card Eruption of True Flame!" Seth declared, revealing said card. "This card allows me to Special Summon as many Fire monsters with 200 or less defense from my graveyard! Revive, Yaksha, Kerin, Cerberus, Hydra!"

The four monsters returned on the field, and Seth immediately played another magic card. "I activate the permanent magic, Haze Pillar! This card, just like Haze Pride, allows me to summon Haze Beast monsters with one less release! Then, I activate my brothers trap DNA Remodeling Surgery, turning every monster on my field into Dinosaur-type. And with my two copies of Resonance Device, Yaksha and Kerin become the same level as Cerberus and Hydra!"

Fire King Beast Yaksha: Level 4 → Level 6

Fire King Beast Kirin: Level 3 → Level 6

He then look at his field with a confident gaze, grinning before he made his next move. **"I overlay the level 6 Yaksha, Kerin, Cerberus and Hydra!"**

"An Xyz monster using four monsters!?" Eldon exclaimed.

"As if there's a monster that needs that many materials," Stephanie sneered, crossing her arms.

**"Xyz Summon! Appear, rank 6! Haze Beast Basilicock!"**

Haze Beast Basilicock, Rank 6, 2500/1800, Overlay Units: 4

Lamar tapped Stephanie's shoulder, pointing at Basilicock. "There **is** a monster that needs that many materials."

Stephanie simply let out an annoyed sigh, turning away from him.

Riley let out a scream, quickly hiding behind James. James looked back in confusion, eyebrows raised. "Riley? What are you doing?"

"Nothing!"

"Garudonix was bad, but that Basilicock made it even worse..." Emily stated, who looked worried.

"What do you mean?" asked Brandon, not really sure what was going on. Scratching the back of his head in confusion was evidence of that.

"Since an accident when we were younger involving a chicken, Riley has been scared of birds," Emily explained, while Brandon's eyebrows shot up.

"Then why is she running a deck full of birds?"

"Because we hoped that by letting her run a deck with birds, she would get over her fear," Emily answered. "And while it works somewhat, birds of the size of Garudonix and monsters that resemble chickens or roosters get her scared out of her skin."

"It does explain her anxious look before. But, letting her run a deck full of birds while she is scared of them..." Brandon mumbled, holding the palm of his head against his forehead. "What kind of evil sister are you...?"

She smacked the back of his head, angering the boy. "What was that for?!"

"I heard what you said!" she informed, holding a finger in front of him. "Don't call me an evil sister!"

"I didn't say that!" he quickly denied, while the others sighed. Now that it weren't James and Riley arguing, it were Brandon and Emily. Seems they will never be able to take a break from the arguing, even without James and Riley.

"I activate Haze Pillar's effect! I can attach one Haze Beast monster from my hand to Basilicock as Overlay Unit!" Seth explained, an extra beam circling around Basilitrice.

Haze Beast Basilitrice: Overlay Units: 4 → 5

"Furthermore, Basilitrice gains 200 attack for each Overlay Unit!" Seth explained, grinning. "And also, he can't be targeted by your card effects, and it can't be destroyed by them either!"

Haze Beast Basilitrice: 2500 → 3500

Riley was still hiding behind James, and the latter didn't know how to get her to stop hiding. "Come on, Riley! It's just grilled chicken! They aren't **that **dangerous!"

"They are!" the brunette protested, grabbing a hold of the back of his jacket as she refused to look at Garudonix and Basilitrice.

The twins look at each other with a mix of confusion and guilt, giving each other a nod. They deactivated their Duel Disks, Basilitrice and Garudonix disappearing from the field.

"I guess this was a good time to stop the duel," Seth admitted, taking off his Duel Disk.

"The time limit was almost up, so it didn't matter that much," Keith assured, also putting away his Duel Disk.

"Look, Riley!" James urged, gesturing to the field with his hand. "They are gone!"

"No, James!" she shouted, clutching the fabric of his jacket tighter. "Don't joke around about that!"

"But I'm not joking!" he tried to convince her, looking back at her.

"Yo!"

James heard the twins calling out to them, seeing the two of them still standing across of them. "Sorry about that! We didn't know!"

"Our bad!" the other finished, leaving the field towards their three brothers, Will and Logan giving Seth and Keith a smack on the head.

"HEY!" they both went in unison, while Will and Keith crossed their arms.

"Look at what you did!" Will urged.

"You scared that girl to death!" Logan added.

"We know!" Seth acknowledged.

"But how were we supposed to know!?" Keith asked, gritting his teeth in anger.

"Will-nii, Logan-nii, please don't blame them," Matt requested, shooting a smile. "They didn't know and things like those can happen in duels."

"You just want to duel Kanbara, don't you?" they both asked in unison, receiving a nod from their youngest brother. They let out a sigh at that.

Matt ignored it, entering the duel field, where Riley had begun to hyperventilate because of the fear Basilitrice and Garudonix had caused.

"You with the blond hair and crimson eyes!" he called out, getting said boy's attention. "Are you ready to duel me?"

He shot a quick glance at Riley to see if she was alright, and noticing that her hyperventilating began to die down and that she was being calmed by Emily, he walked onto the duel field.

Both teens put on their Duel Disks, activating it simultaneously as they shot each other a confident look.

"DUEL!"

**Matt (4000) versus Brandon (4000)**

"I'm letting you take the first turn!" Matt informed, grinning.

"How polite," the blond spoke, picking a card out of his hand with a smirk. "I activate Pot of Greed, drawing two cards."

He immediately picked out two others, revealing them to Matt. **"With the Scale 4 Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon and the Scale 11 Timestream Dragon, I'm setting the Pendulum Scale!"**

Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon and Timestream Dragon rose up into pillars of light, the numbers of their scale appearing underneath them. In the middle of them, a large pendant hung, slowly dangling from left to right.

Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon: Scale 4

Timestream Dragon: Scale 11

"So much for trying to keep the pendant a secret..." the blond muttered, already regretting his choice, while there were elated murmurs from the crowd. He then smirked, throwing a confident look at Matt. **"Swing! Pendulum of souls! Grand power of my prideful soul, unleash yourself so that the light within can draw the outlines of my heart across the ether! Pendulum Summon! Arise, Thorny, Purple Dragon from Another World!"**

Thorny, Purple Dragon from Another World, Level 5, 2200/1100

At that moment, murmurs came from the crowd.

"Pendulum Summon...?"

"Scales...?"

Brandon merely ignored them. "I set one card and end my turn," he announced, slotting his card into the magic and trap card zone. "At this time, I activate Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon's Pendulum effect. By destroying it, I can add a 1500 or less attack Pendulum monster from my deck to my hand."

The blue pillar of light disappeared together with the red dragon, and Brandon showed the card he added to his hand.

"Alright! My turn! Draw!" Matt declared, drawing his card. "I summon Evoldo Odochelys in defense position!"

Evoldo Odochelys, Level 2, 500/1200

"When Odochelys is Normal Summoned, I can Special Summon an Evoldar from my hand!" Matt explained, slapping another monster on the arm blade. "I Special Summon Evoldor Elias!"

Evoldor Elias, Level 6, 1000/2400

"And now, Elias allows me to Special Summon one level 4 or lower Fire monster from my hand because it's summoned through the effect of an Evoldo!" Matt explained. "I summon Evoldar Terias!"

Evoldar Terias, Level 6, 2400/600

**"I overlay the level 6 Evoldar Elias and Evoldar Terias!" **Matt announced, the two monsters turning into streaks of energy before disappearing into a slow-swirling vortex. **"Xyz Summon! Rise, rank 6! Evolkaiser Solde!"**

Evolkaiser Solde, Rank 6, 2600/1000

"Solde, attack Thorny!" Matt ordered, pointing at said monster as Solde slashed Thorny to destruction with its claw.

Brandon: 4000 → 3600

"I set one card and end my turn."

**Matt: 4000, Cards x2**

**Brandon: 3600, Cards x3**

"My turn! Draw!" He added the drawn card to his hand, revealing another one. **"With the Scale 1 Starstream Dragon, I'm setting the Pendulum Scale!"**

In the pillar right from Timestream Dragon rose Starstream Dragon, the '1' appearing underneath it while, the pendant was still in between the two monsters.

Starstream Dragon: Scale 1

**"Swing! Pendulum of souls! Grand power of my prideful soul, unleash yourself so that the light within can draw the outlines of my heart across the ether! Pendulum Summon! Arise!"**

A hole opened up in the middle, a red beam crashing into the ground as a dragon began to rise from the smoke.

**"Arise with your strength directly given to you from the Pendulum, rare dragon with powers unknown to us all! Threat with dual colored eyes, descend now! The mysterious part of my soul, Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon!"**

Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon, Level 7, 2500/2000

"A second copy of Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon..." Chloe analyzed. "One is already quite troublesome for people to deal with it..."

"I activate Solde's effect! When you Special Summon a monster, I can destroy that monster by detaching one Overlay Unit!" Matt explained, one Overlay Unit disappearing from Solde. Solde then shot a stream of fire at Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon, making it leave just as fast as it had arrived.

Evolkaiser Solde: Overlay Units: 2 → 1

"I summon Alexandridragon and attack Odochelys!" Brandon declared, Alexandridragon shooting a shiny beam at said monster, destroying it. "Turn end."

"My turn! Draw! Trap, activate!" Matt shouted, his set card flipping open. "Evolutionary Singularity allows me to Special Summon an Evolkaiser from my extra deck and attach one Evoldar and Evoldo to it as an Overlay Unit!"

Then, a fire shower descended onto the duel field, a white dragon appearing amidst it. "I summon Evolkaiser Dolkka!"

Evolkaiser Dolkka, Rank 4, 2300/1700, Overlay Units: 2

"Dolkka, attack Alexandridragon!" Matt ordered. The white dragon shot a ball of fire at Alexandridragon from its mouth, nailing it in the stomache with it.

Brandon: 3600 → 3300

"Solde, direct attack!"

The dragon slashed Brandon with its claw, and the boy could do nothing else than trying to shield himself from the attack.

Brandon: 3300 → 700

"Turn end!"

**Matt: 4000, Cards x2**

**Brandon: 700, Cards x2**

"His life is already at 700," Lamar noted.

"I don't think I've seen his life so low since the very first duel I saw from him," Eldon added.

"But he doesn't seem to be bothered about it," Daniel stated, sending him a disgusted look. "Talk about arrogance."

"My turn. Draw."

The boy stared at the two dragons on Matt's field. He knew from their previous clash at the pro league that there effects were annoying enough to deal with it, but that he would be cornered as quick as he was now was a thing he didn't expect. Luckily, he had something to fight back now.

"I summon Mythic Tree Dragon!" the blond declared.

Mythic Tree Dragon, Level 4, 100/1400

"I activate Solde's effect! I detach one Overlay Unit to destroy Tree Dragon!" Matt announced, one Overlay Unit disappearing as Solde shot a stream of fire at Tree Dragon.

Evolkaiser Solde: Overlay Units: 1 → 0

He raised an eyebrow out of amusement. "Oh? Not waiting to use its effect on Odd-Eyes?"

"And let you go for an instant Xyz Summon?" Matt countered. "No, thank you."

"Very well, then." The pendant began to swing again, a hole opening up between the two pillars. "**Swing once again, Pendulum of souls! Grand power of my prideful soul, unleash yourself so that the light within can draw the outlines of my heart across the ether! Pendulum Summon!"**

The red beam crashed down upon the duel field again, two different-colored eyes glowing.

**"Arise with your strength directly given to you from the Pendulum, rare dragon with powers unknown to us all! Threat with dual colored eyes, descend now! The mysterious part of my soul, Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon!"**

Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon, Level 7, 2500/2000

"A third copy of Odd-Eyes..." Matt analyzed. "How many copies of that thing do you have left?"

Brandon smirked, confident eyes narrowing. "Only one."

"But... but how!?" Matt exclaimed wide-eyed. "How can it return time after time?!"

"Because it's a Pendulum monster," Brandon answered. "When they are destroyed, instead of going to the graveyard, they go into the extra deck. And when they are in the extra deck, they are able to be Pendulum Summoned."

Everyone's eyes widened, not believing what they have heard.

"It does explain the number of cards in his hand," Chris spoke. "If he would have had three copies of Odd-Eyes, he would have had no cards left in his hand anymore."

"People actually pay attention to something like that?" James wondered, eyebrows furreting.

Matt's shocked expression turned into a smile, letting out an amused chuckle afterwards. "So you really are the one that summoned Pendulum monsters as the first person ever as seen on that video a while back... The so-called Pendulum Prodigy."

"I'm not the Pendulum Prodigy."

"Eh?"

"I'm Brandon Kanbara," he said, eyes narrowing while he continued to smirk. "And Odd-Eyes and I are about to buck wild onto your field, right here, right now!"

* * *

**Don't know if I've said it before, and I'm too lazy too check, but Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon has its OCG/TCG effect.**

**I hope you enjoyed this chapter and I wish you a nice day.**

**See ya!**


	24. Chapter 24

**I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh! Arc-V. I only own my OCs.**

* * *

Odd-Eyes let out a roar at Brandon's declaration, waiting for an attack declaration that could come any second.

"Odd-Eyes, destroy everything in your path with those dual colored eyes of yours, starting with Dolkka!" Brandon ordered. "Burst Strike of Spirals!"

The red dragon unleashed a spiraling blast at Dolkka, destroying the white dragon without any problems.

Matt: 4000 → 3900

"And when Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon destroys a monster by battle, battle damage is doubled!" Brandon explained, throwing his hand forward. "Reaction Force!"

Matt was blown back by the backlash, staggering slightly before falling down.

Matt: 3900 → 3800

"I set one card and end my turn."

"My turn! Draw!" Matt pointed at Odd-Eyes with the drawn card still in his hand, ready to declare an attack. "Solde! Attack Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon!"

Solde was about to slash at Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon with its claw when Brandon's set card flipped open, getting a roar out of Odd-Eyes.

"Trap, activate! Prideful Roar! When one of my monsters battles one of my opponent's monsters that has higher attack, I can pay life equal to the difference!" Brandon explained, his life dropping once again. "Then, Odd-Eyes gains those paid life, plus an additional bonus of 300!"

Brandon: 700 → 600

Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon: 2500 → 2900

"Odd-Eyes' attack is higher now!" Matt gasped, earning a smirk from Brandon.

"Retaliate, Odd-Eyes!" Brandon ordered. "Burst Strike of Spirals!"

The dragon unleashed a spiraling blast again, destroying the second dragon Matt had on his field.

Matt: 3800 → 3500

"Reaction Force!"

Matt: 3500 → 3200

"I summon Evoldar Peta, set one card and end my turn!"

Evoldar Peta, Level 4, 1100/2000

**Matt: 3200, Cards x2**

**Brandon: 600, Cards x1**

"My turn. Draw! Odd-Eyes, destroy everything in your path with those dual colored eyes of yours!" Brandon ordered. "Burst Strike of Spirals!"

Peta awaited the same fate as Solde and Dolkka, but this time without bringing any damage to Matt.

"I activate Peta's effect. When he's destroyed, I can add one Evolde monster to my hand," Matt explained, one card emerging from his deck. He took it out and added it to his hand.

"Turn end."

"My turn! Draw!" Matt declared, drawing his card. "Trap, activate! Evolutionary Singularity! Just like earlier this duel, I can summon an Evolkaiser and attach an Evoldar and a Evolde to it as Overlay Units! I summon Evolkaiser Laggia!"

Evolkaiser Laggia, Rank 4, 2400/2000, Overlay Units: 2

"Then I activate the equipment magic Rising Body Temperature!" Matt declared, slotting the card into the magic and trap card zone. "This card increases the attack and defense of the equipped Dinosaur-type monster with 300!"

Evolkaiser Laggia: 2400/2000 → 2700/2300

"Laggia! Attack Odd-Eyes!"

"Trap, activate! Drain Shield!"

The set card flipped open, a barrier protecting Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon from getting his hit.

"This card negates your attack and restores my life with the attack of your monster!" Brandon explained, the barrier beginning to glow.

Brandon: 600 → 3300

"And here I thought I had you in a corner..." Matt gritted his teeth, a troubled expression on his face. "I guess it's just like the last time... Turn end."

"Then allow me to finish it this turn," Brandon replied with a smirk, drawing his card. "Timestream, Starstream! Pendulum Summon! Arise, Dragon Ruler of Boulders - Redox!"

Dragon Ruler of Boulders - Redox, Level 7, 1600/3000

"I activate Laggia's effect!" Matt announced, two Overlay Units disappearing. "Now I can negate the summoning of Redox and destroy it!"

Laggia shot a stream of fire at Redox, destroying it.

"Ha! Now you can't go into a rank 7!" Matt jeered, pumping his fist in triumph.

"Who says I planned to?" Brandon asked, a taunting smirk on his face.

"You weren't?"

"I banish Redox and Alexandridragon to Special Summon Dragon Ruler of Blazes - Blaster!" Brandon declared, a fiery vortex raging onto the field, quickly revealing Blaster. "Through Redox's effect I can add one Earth monster from my deck to my hand."

"Redox was just a decoy..." Matt realized, glancing at Laggia. Now that it didn't have any Overlay Units anymore, he couldn't destroy Blaster anymore.

Brandon added the card he wanted to his hand, quickly playing another magic card. "I activate the magic card Unprecedented Winds! This card increases the attack and defense of Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon with a 1000!"

Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon: 2500/2000 → 3500/3000

"Odd-Eyes! Destroy everything in your path once again!" Brandon ordered. "Burst Strike of Spirals!"

Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon unleashed its spiraling blast at Laggia, upping Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon 'destructed counter' to four.

Matt: 3200 → 2400

"And because of Odd-Eyes' effect, that will be double!" Brandon declared, a backlash going for Matt. "Reaction Force!"

Matt: 2400 → 1600

"Blaster! Finish this!" Brandon ordered, throwing his hand forward. "Volcano Frenzy!"

Blaster charged its volcanic beam, firing it at Matt. The high temperature of it was already more than enough for Matt, but unfortunately, the duel being a duel, he needed to be hit in the stomach heads on, throwing him back.

Matt: 1600 → 0

**Brandon: WIN**

"Why did he get to finish his duel!?" Seth whined, gesturing towards Matt's area of the duel field.

"Because he won't obey to the time limit anyway," Will answered.

"And if we say something about it, it'll take him longer to finish," Logan added. "So that's pretty much why."

"But it saved us an eventual loss," Keith said, beginning to snicker. "While he got battered by Kanbara again!"

"As if you guys would have an answer against that Pendulum Summon thing..." Logan deadpanned, shaking his head.

Meanwhile, Brandon had helped Matt up, shooting him an apologatic grin. "Sorry about that."

"It's fine," Matt assured, rubbing his head. "Even though I lost to you again..."

"Well, it's time to take our leave," Will announced, checking the time. "Matt! Let's go!"

"Right." He shot a smile at Brandon, grinning broadly. "Thanks for the duel! I really like that Pendulum thingy, but next time I'll win!"

"We'll see about that," the blond replied, sending him a smirk.

Matt turned away, shooting the boy a confident smirk before leaving. "It was fun! See you!"

The five brothers thanked Kate and gave their regards to everyone before leaving in a limousine that was waiting for them in front of the Duel School, allowing the party to continue at how it had initially begun.

"No one going to ask what they did here and how Kate got them here?" James wondered, looking at other members of S-Rank.

"I did that to prepare you for the level you'll be facing at the tournament," Kate explained. "And while I admit that pro's might be a little bit too much, I still think that it was some good preparation."

"'Good preparation' she says... Because of those two twins Riley got scared for her life..." Brandon mumbled. What was wrong with all these people, scaring people like that while they knew about her fear?

"Hm?"

He could answer, and face the wrath of both Kate and Emily. But, Emily had already smacked him earlier today, and it wasn't the most fun experience in his life. And he also treasured his life enough to not let it end in a place like Your Move at his fifteenth.

Which meant that there was only one choice and one choice only.

"Nothing. Absolutely nothing. Just casually ignore me."

* * *

"Why did I have to clean this mess again?"

"Because we're of S-Rank. We have a commitment to this Duel School. Besides, we're all helping. Don't complain."

The party had long ended, and everyone, except the members of S-Rank, had went home. The S-Rank members themselves needed to help and clean everything up, apparently because of said 'commitment'. Brandon, however, saw it as pure forcing. But he was probably the only one who thought that way, especially because he always seemed to be the one who actually had better things to do than constantly hang around in the Duel School after school and during the weekends.

"And what if I want to complain because I don't want to do this?"

"Then I'll just hit you with my broom."

"What is it with you and hitting me lately? Normally, people hit on me instead of hitting me. You should try it too."

It earned the boy a hit to the head with her broom. He rubbed the place he'd been hit with his hand, grumbling in annoyance.

"Thanks, Ems. Good to know you can't take a joke."

"With the expression you always hold, it's hard to know when you're serious and when you're joking."

"Well, excuse me for my face being my face."

"Emily, Kanbara. You can stop the sweeping and come to my office," Kate informed, leaving just as quick as she had appeared in the doorpost.

Brandon dropped his broom on cue, immediately following. "Kanbara out."

Emily sighed, rubbing her temples. Why did that guy need to have these teensy rebellious traits sometimes?

* * *

Kate looked around her office. Everyone had gathered, and they were all standing in front of her desk.

"Where's Kanbara?" she asked, not noticing him being with the others.

"Here."

He silently leaned against the wall with his arms crossed and eyes closed, having distanced himself from the others.

"Okay." Kate clasped her hands together in delight, smiling. "I called all of you here to tell you that tomorrow night, you will all be staying here."

"Ehhhhh?"

Everyone shot each other confused looks, while Brandon popped an eye open, raising an eyebrow.

Kate noticed the expression on everyone's face, prompting her to explain. "This way, the morning after, we can all head towards the stadium together. This has been done to prevent that we'll be late or that certain people won't turn up."

Everybody eyed the blond leaning against the wall, who popped an eye open in annoyance. "Why is everybody looking at me?"

"That description obviously fits you," Stephanie replied, everyone else agreeing with a nod.

"Hmph." The boy pushed himself off the wall, hiding his hands in his pockets. "Before I will be forced to come here tomorrow, I'll go and do the stuff I still need to do."

The boy then suddenly left, and while everyone was used to it, they still thought the way he did it was still kind of rude.

"Such attitude," Stephanie simply huffed.

"Why are you even friends with that guy?" Paris asked.

The boys, except for Daniel, shot each other a look. They all smiled before shrugging.

"Because we are!"

The girls sighed and shook their head. Sometimes, guys were way too confusing.

* * *

"Took you long enough to show up."

"Shut your face."

Brandon kneeled down in between the two others, in front of the man in the chair.

"Sorry for the delay," he apologized. "The dork club kept me up."

"Your part of that dork club, mister daddy issues," Justin taunted. "So you're indirectly referring to yourself as a dork."

"Get on my bad side and you will regret it, betrayer," Brandon informed, sending him a glare. "And I don't have daddy issues."

"Sure you don't~. Call me a betrayer if it makes you feel better, but isn't that what you will be doing too?" Justin asked, grinning tauntingly. "Turning your back towards the 'dork club' during the tournament at the moment they need you to return to your throne on top of All-Star Trinity that actually belongs to me. That is definitely a betrayer in my book."

The boy growled, his hand moving towards his Duel Disk. "If you wanted a fight, then you've found one."

"Master... It might be a good plan to interfere now..." Kai proposed, fearing for what could happen if Justin and Brandon would duke it out right now.

"Cut it out!" Master ordered, his voice booming through the room.

The two looked up to him, and Brandon let go of his Duel Disk, while Justin's grin disappeared in an instant.

"When will the two of you finally stop fighting?" Master asked.

There came no answer to that question. Master sighed. "Just fight it out during Maiami Championship when you need to face off against each other. I don't want the two of you to fight each other here."

The two kept their mouth shut to prevent another fight from starting, that way, they couldn't get scolded by Master either.

"About your registration, Kanbara. I managed to arrange that you can get registered for both Your Move and All-Star Trinity," Master informed. "When you become a representative of All-Star Trinity, they can do nothing about it because you are still registered within our Duel School."

"I see." The boy took a stance, walking towards the door that opened. "Then I'll be going now."

"What was that about?" Justin sneered, letting out a 'hmph'. "Oh well."

Kai shot a worried look at the door the boy had left through. From his lifelong friendship with the blond boy, he knew that something was wrong with him. But Kai also knew that going after him would be futile, because he always denied it if there was something wrong with him.

Brandon had been walking through the halls of All-Star Trinity, heading for home. With his hands in his pockets and his gaze meeting the floor, he absentmindedly ventured thought the halls, Justin's words in the back of his head.

While he hated to admit it, Justin was actually right. If he would proceed as planned, he would do the same as Justin and his 'father' had done to him, and for the latter also to his mother, and that wouldn't make him any better than they were, and that was a thing he had always tried to prevent.

He suddenly was a lot less sure about the plan. Was it really worth it?

* * *

"You wanted to speak to me?"

Daniel sat down in the chair across of Kate, backpack still slung around his shoulder.

"I did. And it is about Maiami Championship," Kate informed, crossing her arms. "I know that you are qualified and such but..."

"But...?"

"I'm afraid we can't let you participate."

"What do you mean 'can't let you participate'?" he asked, nervously glancing around.

"During your qualification duel, you apparently got injured after landing when you got and used an Action Card," Kate answered. "And you continued to participate in exercise duels over here, which worsened the situation. And as owner of this school, I have a duty to look after you. That includes making sure your injury doesn't get worse."

"But it's not that worse!" Daniel insisted. "I'll be able to duel with it!"

"I'm afraid you aren't. We saw during your exercise duels that you held back a lot when searching for Action Cards, and you pulled some nasty faces when moving," Kate explained. "Maiami Championship is a tournament in which all duels are Action Duels. Therefore, to protect you, and your body, you won't be participating with us."

He rose up from his chair, smacking his hands on the desk. "This is all because of Kanbara isn't it?! Now that there is one person more in S-Rank, one person needs to drop out of Maiami Championship for him to keep that 'perfect balance'!"

"This has nothing to do with Kanbara," Kate assured. "If you didn't get injured, or at least didn't keep it hidden from us, you would still be able to participate."

Daniel gritted his teeth. Surely it was Kanbara, but she didn't want to tell it. And if that wasn't it, then she just didn't want to give him the opportunity to participate in Maiami Championship, so that the path of becoming a pro could never open up to him.

"But I worked really hard to qualify!" Daniel protested, gritting his teeth. "I deserve to be dueling there!"

"I know that," Kate admitted, but she could do nothing more than shoot him an apologetic smile. "But you won't be participating. And that's final. Your registration has already been rescinded."

Rescinded? Did she just say rescinded?!

Daniel felt his eyes tear up a little. He couldn't believe it. All those years at Your Move, all that hard work. All for nothing.

He stormed off, not saying anything.

Kate couldn't do anything more than to feel sorry for him.

* * *

"Ahhhhh~"

The white-haired boy sat down on the bench with a plop, breathing in the fresh air of the night skies.

Brandon followed his counterparts leading, only without the plop. He needed to admit, Xandon's idea to go to the park at night was a better one than he had expected.

"Sorry for making you get out here," the boy clothed in black apologized, staring at the skies. "But I really wanted to go outside and it's not possible anymore during daylight."

"Don't worry. It's fine," Brandon assured, shooting him a smirk. "Besides, I guess I can use some fresh air right now."

"I guessed that, that's also why I did this," Xandon revealed, shooting the boy a small smile.

He noticed the puzzled expression on the blond's features, and he looked back at the sky again. "Somehow I know when something is wrong with you... I guess it's because we are Dimensional Counterparts."

"Talking about being counterparts..." Brandon began, thinking about how to phrase his sentence. "Despite being a different person, it also makes us the same person in a way, doesn't it?"

Xandon nodded in agreement. "I guess that somehow makes us brothers."

"Brothers..." Brandon softly repeated, changing his attention to the stars above too. "I haven't thought about it that way yet to be honest..."

A silence fell, both looking at the stars above. Brandon thought back to what he had said earlier about being the same, but yet a different person. He was serious and shunned all forms of bonds, while Xandon was a lot more cheerful and wanted to be friends with practically everyone. But yet, they both had the same face, same body structure, and they both run a deck with Dragon-type monsters.

But it was mostly the differences in personality that surprised the blond the most. After going through a surprise war, having seen his friends, family, and city being destroyed by Academia and needing to flee, Brandon had surely thought Xandon would be a little bit more like him in terms of personality.

Which was exactly the reason why he asked the question he asked.

"How come you're so different from me?"

"Hm?" Xandon went, slightly tilting his head to the side. "You said it yourself. We are the same, yet a different person."

"I know. But that wasn't what I meant," replied Brandon. "After going through that war... Your friends, family, and hometown is gone thanks to Academia. How can you still be so cheerful because of that? How can it even be you still want to be friends with everyone despite knowing that there are people just as rotten as that Academia trash out there?"

Xandon looked at his counterpart, turning his head away to stare straight ahead afterwards. His lips formed a thin line, and he kept his mouth shut for a short while.

"Because... because of that war. That's why I want to be friends with everyone," Xandon answered. "That attack from Academia made sure Shane and I lost a lot. But that's why I want to be friends with everyone. When you're friends with someone, or even just a bond, it's a lot easier to achieve peace. And I know it's a naive idea. And also a very unachievable idea. But... I just don't want anyone that anyone has to go through what me, Shane, and everyone else back at Heartland needed to go through back then."

Now it was Brandon's turn to be silent for a short while. And there he was thinking that Xandon wanted to fight Academia just for revenge. No, he actually had a real reason and goal to so, unlike himself. He simply wanted to bring down Academia because he had been trained for that by Master. Because the way Academia used the card game he and many other people loved the way they did.

He didn't **have** a valid reason to combat Academia. Then why did he bothered trying to save so many people while he claimed to not care about others?

But unlike Xandon, Brandon was prepared to fight. Without any hesitation. But Xandon didn't seem to be.

"Say, Xandon. Will you fight against Academia?"

Xandon briefly closed his eyes, looking at Brandon when he opened them again. "When there's no other choice, I have to, don't I?"

"I guess so..."

"Say, Kanbara-kun. Why exactly do you want to fight against Academia?"

"It's easy actually. I don't have a valid reason like you have," Brandon admitted, shrugging slightly. "But, the way Academia use Duel Monsters... I can't accept that. They use it as a tool for war, to destroy people's homes, to tear families apart! Duel Monsters is something that should be used for fun, should be played because you have a passion for it, to pass that passion onto the audience. Not to destroy people's lives."

"I know how you feel. Heartland was a city filled with smiles. Everyone enjoyed dueling," Xandon said, the memories of those days bringing a smile on his face. "Duels are meant to bring smiles. Not to take those smiles away."

Brandon looked at Xandon, and noticed that the red line underneath his right eye had slowly faded, compared with the one underneat his left eye. But those lines were supposed to be real, or well, everyone thought they were.

"Those red markings underneath your eye," Brandon started, pointing at said markings. "Are they real?"

"No. My comrade used to always paint them there."

Brandon noticed Xandon's expression fall at the mention of his comrade. He knew exactly what comrade that was. The important one that was captured during the war.

"It's the only thing I have left to remind me of her right now, so until she is back, I will just keep them there."

Yeah, Xandon definitely had reasons to fight Academia.

Brandon stood up from the bench, turning to Xandon, sending him a confident smirk. "I will help you to find your comrade. And with me, the rest of All-Star Trinity. And I will also promise that I will try to bring smiles to the people by dueling. "

Xandon's lips parted for a moment, not knowing what to say. That quickly changed into a smile, a confident look, and a nod.

The white-haired boy followed Brandon's example and also took a stance. "Thank you, Kanbara-kun."

"Why so formal? And why are you even thanking me?" Brandon asked, earning another confused look from Xandon. "We're brothers, right? Brothers shouldn't adress each other so formally. And as brothers, we're into this together."

They sealed their promise with a fistbump. Until Brandon realized something else.

"If you want to be able to go out in public during daylight, you might want a change of wardrobe. You know, just to not draw so much so attention."

* * *

"Stupid Kate! Stupid Your Move! Stupid Kanbara!"

Daniel angrily kicked away a small pebble that happened to be in the way, unleashing all of his anger on it.

"If that guy had never appeared, this would have never happened!"

Since the moment the blond boy came in, things changed. He threw Eldon of his throne as the best duelist of the Duel School, Kate favored him (Or so, Daniel thought. Why else would she tell people that if they need help for their qualification to go to him while Emily and Michelle were also already qualified), he picked random fights, even though that was only the case in the beginning, and yet, the boys see him as friends. And that resulted in their bond with Daniel got neglected slightly. Sure, Daniel wasn't anything like James, Eldon, or Lamar. But neither was Kanbara, so why did they have a better bond with that guy than with him?

And now, the only thing that made him endure all that, Maiami Championship, was the thing he needed to miss out on.

Life couldn't get worse for him at the moment.

There was a purple flash. A bright purple flash. And when the light died down, Daniel was able to see the person that stood there, and he realized that his life could get worse.

The boy that was a thorn into his side, stood there. Or well, he thought he stood there.

He had the exact same face as Brandon, he had the same body structure of Brandon, but he had totally different clothing and hairstyle. But since that moment in the park, Daniel didn't rule out the possibility that the guy was cosplaying again. Even though he always denied that he did that.

But the malicious grin the person flashed told Daniel that that **definitely** wasn't Brandon Kanbara.

* * *

"President. I came to inform you that all the registrations have been handled," Johnson informed. "Every participator should be registered in the database."

"Perfect." Leonardo immediately went into the database, information of all the participators being projected on a big screen. Leonardo and Johnson both silently looked through some profiles, not bothering to make it quick. "Seems there is more than enough options that could be suitable."

"What are the requirements they need to match anyway?" Johnson asked, continuing to look through the profiles.

"They just need to show that they are good enough to fight for Standard. If someone gets knocked out in the second round, but has still shown that he's capable of fighting for Standard, then I will consider that person as an option," Leonardo explained.

"How many people do you need?"

"It's not a matter of needing, Johnson. It's a matter of wanting. And I only want the very best. Right now, only one person participating is sure of a place."

The last profile popped up on the screen, the picture of a familiar serious face and his unexpected ace monster on the left of it.

**Name: **Kanbara, Brandon

**Age:** 15

**Sex: **Male

**Duel School:** Your Move Duel School/All-Star Trinity Duel School

**Deck:** Pendulum Dragon Ruler

"Brandon Kanbara... Who will become a Lancer for our world with you?"

* * *

**So yeah. Maiami Championship is starting next chapter. Yaaaaay.**

**And about next chapter: because I'm in my exams, it might be possible that chapter 25 might be later online than usual. Just so you know.**

**Hope you enjoyed reading this and I wish you a nice day.**

**See ya!**


	25. Chapter 25

**I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh! Arc-V. I only own my OCs.**

* * *

Start! Maiami Championship! Dragonic clash!

* * *

"Where am I?"

The boy stood up, finding himself in a black dimension, not even the slightest trace of light infiltrating.

"James. If this is some kind of joke, I swear I'll—"

He got interfered by evil laughing, upping his guard almost immediately.

"Who's there?"

"Just you and us."

"And who's that 'us'?"

There was evil laughter again, but there was nothing that revealed its face to the blond boy.

"We are the Qliphorts. The strongest Pendulum monsters in existance."

"Qliphorts? Pendulum monsters?"

"Indeed. And you, Brandon Kanbara, you shall be the first to be wiped out of existance by us. You and your Dragon Rulers."

"And why exactly is that?"

"Because that is the reason for our creation."

The boy let out a low growl, but whatever those Qliphorts looked like, the boy could judge from the tone of the voice that spoke that they were not impressed by it.

"We will battle it out at the highest stage. The stage of Maiami Championship. Be prepared."

"M-Maiami Champiionship?! What?!"

The only response was evil laughter.

* * *

"The Obelisk Force haven't returned. And it doesn't seem they will either."

"Then send me! I can get the job done! I swear!"

"I know you probably will. But I don't want to let you go. You are very important to Academia."

"And by finishing off the remaining Xyz Remnants I can justify that importance!"

The man thought his options over. He could let her go and let her defeat the last Xyz Remnants. She wanted to get send out for years now, so her motivation was bigger than that of any other Academia student. And she definitely had better skills than the Obelisk Force.

And she would stop whining, too.

"You can go. But first, I will give you the exact targets you **have** to wipe out."

She was shown a hologram of two people. She guessed it were the only Xyz Remnants left. They shouldn't be that hard to find. There weren't that many people with white hair. Or well, not that she knew of.

"Any other Xyz user you find can be wiped out, too. The more, the better."

"Got it! Thank you! You won't regret this!"

* * *

Brandon shot awake, sweat drops rolling down his face.

He looked around in the room the boys were sleeping and they were all still asleep. And it was still dark, so it was night.

He wiped the sweat away, rubbing his temples afterwards. That was way too much of a nightmare of his own good. And if he needed to believe that voice, then it would become reality soon.

But he needed some fresh air right now. Where was he supposed to get that in a Duel School he wasn't really familiar with despite being there for quite some time now? He had truly no idea.

He kicked the blankets off and began his 'quest' for fresh air. Luckily for him, it didn't take him too long. He was just glad that Your Move was nowhere near as close as big as All-Star Trinity. Wandering around without an idea on where to go in the middle of the night would be no option right now, especially with that nightmare in his mind.

But more importantly, why did Your Move have a balcony (albeit a small one), while All-Star Trinity didn't? He would definitely speak to Master about that.

The wind softly ruffled his hair, while his crimson eyes fixated themselves on the stars up above. He didn't know where the liking of stargazing came from, but he didn't really care.

What he did care about was who the person standing behind him was.

"You can speak up, you know."

"How did you know I was here?"

"I felt a presence."

Count on Brandon to give people vague answers.

The girl stepped forward, joining him on the balcony. "So, why are you awake?"

"I can ask you the same," the blond immediately retorded.

Toucheé.

"I heard footsteps in the hallway," she answered. "And because I couldn't sleep, I decided to follow you."

"Isn't beauty sleep very important for girls?" Brandon asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I'm beautiful enough to miss out on it once," she answered.

"Aha."

There fell a silence that lasted for a short while, before the girl broke it again.

"You should go to sleep and rest up," she advised. "We really need you at Maiami Championship."

"But why exactly?" he asked. "It's every man for himself."

"In the end it is, but the further people of our Duel School get into the tournament, the more fame it will earn Your Move," she explained. "That's the only way Your Move can continue to develop to maybe one day become equal to LDS and All-Star Trinity."

"You know that that will take quite some years, right, Ems?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I know. And that's why, every tournament, we need to give it our all," she answered. "And with you, we actually have a good chance of delivering a finalist. A winner even."

"That's quite the trust you are placing in me," he said, a smirk on his face. Not that he wasn't used to it. Master and the rest of All-Star Trinity, except for Justin, practically expected him to become the winner of Maiami Championship.

"You are always placing too much trust in yourself, so why shouldn't I be allowed to place a little bit in you too?" she asked, an amused smile on her face. "Besides, you put your trust in me too."

"Hm?"

"Michelle asked me to help her out with leading S-Rank. She told me it was on your proposal," she explained. "So thank you for that."

"No need to. It was only a proposal. In the end, it was Michelle herself who decided to do that," Brandon said.

Emily said nothing, because a yawn prevented her from doing so. Brandon noticed and raised an eyebrow.

"I think you should go to sleep."

"Ah, no. I can hold it out a little bit longer," she assured, despite her eyelids feeling very heavy.

"Not how I see it. Your eyes are almost falling shut."

The moment another yawn escaped her, Brandon shot her an amused smirk, Emily blushing out of embarassment.

"You should really go to sleep."

"But—"

"Go." He let out a big huff of air before continuing. "To sleep."

Despite it being an order, it came out in a playful tone that completely took away the order-ish to it and Emily swore that she even heard a chuckle. A thing that was very unusual for the crimson-eyed boy.

"Fine," she said, turning away to leave the balcony.

Before disappearing back inside, she looked back at the boy one more time, the darkness from outside hiding her blush somewhat.

"And the next time, put a shirt on, dork."

He frowned before looking at his torso, noticing that he indeed had forgot to put a shirt on before leaving the room he and the boys slept in.

Smirking, he dismissed it with a single hand movement.

"But hey, like this, I look absolutely flawless."

Rolling her eyes at the joking tone in his voice, despite probably meaning a part of it knowing the boy, she disappeared.

She refused to confirm that. But she also refused to deny that.

* * *

"Alright. All registrations have been handled."

Kate then took out a small object, handing one to each. "This is your tournament ID. These go in your Duel Disk and a computer will then match the registered duelists to each other."

Inspecting the small objects, they noticed students of other Duel Schools entering, many unknown, many looking threatening and many who didn't look like that much of a big deal.

But then there was the Duel School named All-Star Trinity.

"Very important person here. Let me past, let me past!"

Justin. Brandon definitely identified that as Justin.

He practically pushed himself past where they were standing, pushing the blond to the side without any warning.

"Come on, come on people! Move it! Maiami Championship winner incoming!"

"Talk about arrogance," Michelle muttered, the others agreeing.

"Sorry for that," Kai apologized, grinning cheepishly as he pointed in Justin's direction before heading towards that direction himself. "Do your best, Your Move! Kanbara!"

"Always," the boy replied, earning a satisfied grin from Kai before the latter left with the rest of All-Star Trinity.

And not long after All-Star Trinity left, another elite Duel School entered.

"Look what the cat dragged in."

Emily recognized the voice, glaring immediately as she turned around. "Amanda. What are you doing here?"

"Winning Maiaimi Championship, of course," she replied arrogantly, circling around Emily. "And it's Mandy. You know that."

"Who's grabbing the popcorn?" James asked, excitingly looking at the boys.

"Me!" Eldon threw his hand up in the air while Lamar pointed at himself with his thumb.

Brandon lightly elbowed Riley, pointing at the brunette circling around Emily. "Who's that Mandy, Amanda or whatever person?"

"She's on our school and a top student of the LDS Xyz Course. And well, as you see..." she began, gestured at the two girls, "they're not really on the best terms."

The boy shrugged, hiding his hands in his pockets. "Seems legit."

"Now, now. Now's not the time to fight."

Emily recognized that voice too and next to Brandon, Riley suddenly stiffened up.

A black-haired boy with blue eyes joined the scene. And besides wearing a taunting smile on his face, he wore a dark yellow jacket over a white shirt with a brown crown on it, grey jeans, purple sneakers and headphones around his neck.

"Now who the hell is that?" Brandon asked. Sometimes he surprised himself with how poor his knowledge of the LDS students was. For a Duel School that worked together with All-Star Trinity, surely he would know some of their students, right?

"I'm Charles. Charles Beaton. Emily and Riley's cousin."

"Beaton!? Cousin!?" Everyone went while Brandon began to snicker.

"Charles," he repeated, continuing to snicker. "Well, that's a lame name. Did your parents hate you or something?"

"Very funny." Charles simply rolled his eyes at the boy. "You think of yourself as quite the hotshot, don't you?"

"I'm not saying I'm not," the boy said, smirking. "But at least my mom loved me enough to give me a cool name."

"Your mom?" Charles repeated, raising his eyebrow before a taunting smile painted his features. "Ah, so she's a single parent. Well, if I was your father, I would leave too if I had a son like that. I'd even let her get an abortion. Heck, I think he even tried that and because she didn't, he left! What a big mistake did she make. She certainly wasn't a bright one."

"WHAT'S THAT!?"

Grabbing him by the collar of his jacket, Brandon pushed him against a wall, growling as his grip tightened.

"Say it. Say it again to my face," he hissed, glaring a hole in his soul. He held his fist ready to throw at Charles' face. Now the only thing that's left was for him to say it again so he had a valid reason too.

"Awh... Did I trample on someone's unimportant feelings?" he asked, the taunting smile from before finding a way to his face. "Seems that you have some serious daddy issues. Or perhaps you're just really insecure about yourself? The fact that you want to fight it out like a caveman shows me that you're not a very intelligent species."

Growling even more, Brandon was ready to punch a hole in Charles' face. Talk trash about his 'father'? Fine. He did that himself more than often, but talking that way about his mother? No, he could and would never accept that.

Emily looked at the boy with a worried look. The boy who normally held his composion and calm, had broken that in an instant with a fury she probably had never seen before. But she knew what for touchy subject his family situation was, so she needed to step in. Both for him and Charles' face.

Feeling a hand resting upon his shoulder, he cocked his head to the side to see who stood behind him.

Emily looked at him with a stern look, shaking her head. "Don't punch him. You'll be disqualified if you do that. He deserves it but he's not worth it."

Glaring at the taunting Charles once again, he decided to let go of his collar. How much he wanted to punch the guy, becoming the winner of Maiami Championship had a higher priority to him. For now.

Straightening his clothes, Charles shot the group one more look. "Thanks for helping, Emily. That caveman desperatly needs some authority."

"Don't call him a caveman," Emily hissed, glaring. "And just go."

"But why? I just want to speak to my sweetest cousins," he said, earning a glare from Emily.

"Go. Now."

Lips slightly parting and eyebrows raising, he noticed the look in her eyes. Shrugging, he turned on his heel. "Very well then. I'll see you on the duel field then, Riley, Emily! And try not to resort to cannibalism, caveman."

Together with Amanda, he left, getting their own registrations done.

Brandon growled, his right eye twitching in annoyance. Charles was now right on top of his 'People I absolutely hate and that I need to crush before crowning self to winner of Maiami Championship'. Right underneath Justin of course. He didn't hate Charles with a passion. At least, not yet.

"Sorry about him," Emily apologized, shooting him a mix of a sad and apologizing look. "He has always been like this."

"You should have totally let me punch him, though."

* * *

"Did you hear that?! The winner of Maiami Championship gets to duel Leonardo Declan! That's totally rad!"

James pumped his fist in delight, excitement twinkling in his eyes.

The opening ceremony went pretty smoothly. Well, until Leonardo Declan himself entered the scene. The fangirls weren't able to be silenced after his appearance. After explaining that Maiami Championship's winner got to duel him, the duelists weren't able to be silenced either.

"Now, all duelists, please insert your tournament ID into your Duel Disks," Leonardo requested, his tone as polite as ever. "The computer will match you to your opponent."

Everyone inserted the tournament ID, their own picture with that of an other duelist appearing on the screen of their Duel Disk.

Brandon frowned as he noticed his opponent. That was the girl that spoke to him back at Techno Duel School, boasting that she could easily take down his dragons.

"So her name is Cyber, eh?" He then noticed the scheduled time. "That means I'm having the first duel in this category."

He was sure it was a set-up by Leonardo to have him kick off the tournament for the Junior Youth Category. Did it matter? Not really.

He was a man on a mission and nothing would stand on his way.

* * *

The crowd cheered loudly as the presentator appeared on the duel field. Holding his microphone to make himself audible, he spoke up.

"Everyone! Welcome to Maiami Championship's first duel of the Junior Youth Category!" he said. "The two duelists who will kick off this tournament for their own category will be nervous but will most definitely give a show for you all!"

On the big screen behind him, two pictures popped up. One of a silver-haired girl and one of a blond boy with crimson eyes that many could identify as Brandon Kanbara.

Getting their cues, both duelists set foot on the duel field, Duel Disks equipped around their wrists.

The crowd cheering got even louder, their loud shouts practically begging for the duel to begin.

"Ready?" the presentator asked, to both the duelists and the crowd.

The crowd cheered to confirm that, Brandon nodded, while Cyber answered with a "yes".

"Action Field! On!"

The duel field changed into some sort of cybernetic factory. Brandon noticed himself standing on a iron platform, underneat him a big pool of lava boiling and waiting to draw him in.

"Duelists locked in battle! Kicking the earth and dancing in the air alongside their monsters! They storm through this field! Behold! This is the newest and greatest evolution of Dueling!" the crowd recited with the presentator as the latter threw his hand into the air. "Actiooooooon..."

He snapped his fingers, Action Cards spreading throughout the duel field.

"DUEL!"

**Cyber (4000) versus Brandon (4000)**

"You can have the first move," Cyber said.

And while he prefered not to because of his dueling style, he still did. If she wanted him to crush her that fast, then he needed to give obey to that. "First of all, I play Pot of Greed, allowing me to draw two cards."

But from the hand advantage he had gained, two cards were being picked out, reducing that advantage again. "I discard Reactan and another Dragon-type monster to Special Summon Dragon Ruler of Boulders - Redox from my deck."

Dragon Ruler of Boulders - Redox, Level 7, 1600/2800

"I set one card and end my turn."

"My turn! Draw!" Cyber declared, drawing her card with confidence. Smiling as she looked at it, she immediately activated it. "Magic card, activate! Power Bond!"

"Power Bond?!" Brandon repeated, eyes slightly widening.

"I fuse the three Cyber Dragons in my hand!" Cyber announced, three mechanical dragons appearing behind her in front of a swirling vortex. **"Fusion chamber, unlock! Mechanical wings, secured! Armor piercers, online! System check, all clear! Fusion Summon! Let's go, Cyber End Dragon!"**

The three mechanical dragons fused, bringing forth a three-headed dragon with two giant wings on the back.

Cyber End Dragon, Level 10, 4000/2800

"Ah. So that's what her clothes are based on," the boy realized, looking up to the three-headed dragon. "She wants to resemble a Cyber Dragon gijinka!"

"And because of Power Bond, Cyber End Dragon's attack is doubled," Cyber explained, Cyber End Dragon letting out a roar.

Cyber End Dragon: 4000 → 8000

"Amazing! Cyber managed to bring out a level 10 monster with 8000 attack on the first turn already!" the presentator shouted, not believing his eyes.

"Cyber End Dragon! Attack Redox!" Cyber ordered, pointing at said monster. "Eternal Evolution Burst!"

Unleashing a blast from each mouth that headed for Redox at high speed, Brandon knew that he needed to go all out from this point onwards. So he needed to begin now.

"Trap, activate! Attack Nullification!"

Cyber End Dragon's blast went up in thin air, keeping Redox and Brandon's life safe.

He then smirked, looking at Cyber End Dragon. "Throwing everything on a One Turn Kill, eh? So sad Power Bond will deplete your life completely during the end phase."

"Not if I summon Cyber Giraffe," Cyber said, summoning forth said monster before it disappeared again. "By releasing it, all effect damage I would take this turn becomes 0. Turn end."

**Cyber: 4000, cards x1**

**Brandon: 4000, cards x3**

Redox returned to Brandon's hand through his effect, leaving Brandon without anything on his field. "Thanks for defending me, Redox. My turn. Draw!"

He added his card to his hand, smirking at Cyber End Dragon one more time. "It's a cool monster. But so unfortunate that it isn't a real dragon."

"And yet it can destroy all of your real dragons with one attack!" Cyber countered, the taunting smirk remaining on the blond's face.

"Yeah, I saw that against Redox." He picked a card out of his hand, a black hole appearing underneath Cyber End Dragon. "Black Hole destroys all monsters on the field."

Cyber gritted her teeth at her dragon leaving the field. She was wide open now.

"It would so much more of a threat if it would have been a real Dragon-type monster," Brandon taunted, preparing his next move.

"Shut it!"

"I summon the Supreme Shield Dragon - Heliosphere in defense position. Now, because I control no other monsters, you can't declare an attack," Brandon explained, setting one card. "I set one card and end my turn."

Supreme Shield Dragon - Heliosphere, Level 4, 0/1900

"My turn! Draw! I summon Proto-Cyber Dragon, set one card and end my turn."

Proto-Cyber Dragon, Level 3, 1100/600

**Cyber: 4000, cards x0**

**Brandon: 4000, cards x2**

_'Proto-Cyber Dragon has its name treated as Cyber Dragon on the field... could she be trying to get out another one of those Fusion dragons? I have to prevent that,' _the boy said inwardly, drawing his card and slapping it on the monster card zone. "I summon Clone Dragon!"

Clone Dragon, Level 4, ?/0

**"Level 4 Heliosphere, Clone Dragon, overlay!"** The two dragons turned into energy streaks before disappearing. **"Xyz Summon! Appear, rank 4! Dragon Devil - Queen Dragoon!"**

Dragon Devil - Queen Dragoon, Rank 4, 2200/1200, Overlay Units: 2

"I detach one of her Overlay Units to Special Summon Strong Wind Dragon who I discarded through Reactan's effect," Brandon explained, a green dragon emerging onto the field as Queen Dragoon blew her flute.

Strong Wind Dragon, Level 6, 2400/1000

"Now, Queen Dragoon, attack Proto-Cyber Dragon!" Brandon ordered, as Queen Dragoon engulfed herself in fire completely, ramming into the mechanical dragon to burn it away.

Cyber: 4000 → 2900

"Turn end."

"My turn! Draw!" Cyber threw her arm to the side, her set card flipping open. "Cyber Repair Plant lets me activate both its effects when I have three or more Cyber Dragons in my graveyard. Because of that, I can add one Light Machine-type monster to my hand and shuffle one Light Machine-type monster from my graveyard into my deck. I add Cyber Dragon Drei to my hand and shuffle Proto-Cyber Dragon into my deck. Then, I summon Cyber Valley. Turn end."

Cyber Valley, Level 1, 0/0

"Cyber Valley..." Brandon noted, eyes narrowing. "Quite the bothersome monster."

"Could you just get on with your turn?" Cyber asked, sassily crossing her arms.

Smirking, the boy looked at her. "You sure are impatient. Very well then. My turn. Draw! I banish Strong Wind Dragon!"

The dragon roared as he got engulfed by a dark flame that raged shortly over Brandon's field before a pair of black wings shot out, followed by legs and a tail.

**"Metallic black dragon. Within your soul lays the wrath of the comrades of your kind! With your flaming breath of darkness, aid in the birth of your brethren to crush the opponent's empire! Special Summon! Descend, level 10! Red-Eyes Darkness Metal Dragon!"**

Red-Eyes Darkness Metal Dragon, Level 10, 2800/2400

"And now for Darkness Metal Dragon's effect. For each Dragon-type monster in my graveyard, it gains 400 attack," Brandon explained, Darkness Metal Dragon roaring loudly as its attack increased. "With Reactan and Heliosphere there, its attack increases with 800."

Red-Eyes Darkness Metal Dragon: 2800 → 3600

"Darkness Metal Dragon, attack Cyber Valley!" Brandon ordered, throwing his hand forward. "Darkness Metal Flare!"

The dragon shot a big fireball at Cyber Valley, who managed to get away in time.

"I activate Cyber Valley's effect! By banishing it, I can draw one card and end the battle phase!"

Drawing her card, the fireball dissolved into thin air.

"Hmph. Turn end."

"I actually wanted to duel the Dragonic Emperor," Cyber commented. "This is such a letdown."

She drew her card, immediately revealing it to be the same card Brandon had used earlier. "I draw two cards through Pot of Greed!"

Drawing her two cards, she added one to her hand, playing the other one. "Then I activate the magic card Cybernetic Freedom! This card lets me threat all Machine-type monsters as Dragon-type monsters!"

Brandon's eyes narrowed. Why would she want that in a Machine-type based deck?

Her next magic card would explain that.

"I activate Dragon's Mirror! This card allows me to conduct a Fusion Summon from my graveyard!"

The three Cyber Dragon's, Cyber End Dragon and Cyber Giraffe appeared behind Cyber in front of the swirling vortex before disappearing into it, making the ground shake.

**"Mechanical dragons! Damage negater! In a swirling whirlpool of light, combine and show to us your new form! Fusion Summon! Appear! Five God Dragon!"**

Behind Cyber, a giant five-headed dragon descended. Each head seemed to resemble a certain attribute, but despite that difference, they all five roared loudly.

Five God Dragon, Level 12, 5000/5000

Brandon looked up to see the five heads of the dragon, mouth slightly agape. Aha. So that's what she was up to.

* * *

**Red-Eyes Darkness Metal Dragon and Heliosphere's effects are mixed effects:**

**Red-Eyes Darkness Metal Dragon:**

**You can Special Summon this card (from your hand) by banishing 1 Dragon-type monster you control. This card gains 400 attack for each Dragon-type monster in your graveyard. You can negate the effects of magic cards that target this card. You can discard 1 card to negate the activation and effect of any magic card your opponent controls and destroy it. Once per turn: You can Special Summon one Dragon-type monster from your hand or graveyard, except "Red-Eyes Darkness Metal Dragon".**

**Heliosphere:**

**If you control no other face-up monsters, your opponent cannot declare an attack. Once per turn, if you control a level 8 Dragon-type monster: You can make this card become level 8 until the end phase.**

**Cybernetic Freedom is an OC card. The effect is already fully explained within the chapter. Created by Ghost83. **

**Credits for the summon chant of Cyber End Dragon go to Ghost83. Red-Eyes Darkness Metal Dragon's summon chant is a reference to Brandon's Dragon Ruler deck, in which Red-Eyes Darkness Metal Dragon is part of their 'army'. Hence the, 'destroy opponent's empire' part.  
**

**I hope you enjoyed this chapter and I wish you a nice day.**

**See ya!**


	26. Chapter 26

**I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh! Arc-V. I only own my OCs.**

* * *

Rebelling against the Cyberdark opression! - Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon!

* * *

Five God Dragon let out another devastating roar, shaking up the platform Brandon was standing up, swinging it around.

"Maybe I should have activated Darkness Metal Dragon's effect to negate a magic card..." the blond mumbled, even though now that he was staring at his hand, that might have not been the best option.

"Five God Dragon! Attack Dragon Devil!" Cyber ordered. The five heads charged up their respective elemental blast, unleashing it at Dragon Devil full force.

Brandon: 4000 → 1200

Red-Eyes Darkness Metal Dragon: 3600 → 4400

Brandon fell to one knee, letting out a growl of annoyance. The amount of damage Cyber managed to inflict through one attack was way too much. Things could go wrong if he didn't do something against it.

"Turn end."

**Cyber: 2900, cards x2**

**Brandon: 1200, cards x2**

Slowly crawling back up, Brandon drew his card. While the Five God Dragon was an annoying monster to face with its 5000 attack and defense, it was a monster that Brandon definitely wanted in his extra deck.

He added the drawn card to his hand, smirking. "Where can I get this glorious beast?"

"If you can beat me, I'll give it to you," Cyber answered, winking.

Saying no more, he threw his hand forward, Red-Eyes Darkness Metal Dragon let out a roar. "I activate Darkness Metal Dragon's effect! Once per turn, I can Special Summon a Dragon-type monster from my graveyard. Come, Heliosphere!"

The dragon returned on the field, immediately taking a defensive stance.

Red-Eyes Darkness Metal Dragon: 4400 → 4000

"Turn end."

"My turn! Draw!" Drawing her card, she immediately played it. "I activate Dragon Shield! As long as this card is equipped, Five God Dragon can't be destroyed and I take no battle damage from battles involving it!"

"I activate Red-Eyes Darkness Metal Dragon's effect! I discard one card to negate and destroy Dragon Shield!" Brandon declared, discarding Tidal.

Red-Eyes Darkness Metal Dragon: 4000 → 4400

"Five God Dragon! Attack Heliosphere!" Cyber ordered, the five blasts raging over Brandon's side of the field.

The explosion that followed threw Brandon back over the railing, but luckily for him, he managed to grab a hold of it. Giving a strong swing, he swung himself back onto the platform, dusting himself off quickly. "I certainly didn't expect any physical exercise..."

Red-Eyes Darkness Metal Dragon: 4400 → 4800

"Outside of your Darkness Metal Dragon, there's no monster that can possibly go over Five God Dragon's 5000," Cyber commented. "And Darkness Metal Dragon even needs monsters in the graveyard for it.

"In terms of natural attack, no monster is probably able to exceed it," Brandon replied. "But as you said yourself, Darkness Metal Dragon can by having more dragons in my graveyard. So in other words, I need to either strengthen my dragons or weaken yours."

"Turn end."

**Cyber: 2900, cards x2**

**Brandon: 1200, cards x2**

"Now what will you do?" asked Cyber, an amused smile on her face.

"You'll see." He activated a magic card that he had drawn, the spirit of Redox briefly appearing on the field. "I activate Treasured Sword of Seven Stars! By banishing Redox from my hand, I can draw two cards."

Redox's spirit dissolved into tiny particles as Brandon drew two new cards, adding them to his hand.

"Then, because of Redox's effect, I can add one Earth monster to my hand."

Adding the emerging card from his deck to his hand, he picked out another card. "I activate Tribute to the Dead! By discarding one card in my hand, I can destroy Five God Dragon!"

Five God Dragon got wrapped in bandages, getting dragged down a portal on the ground.

"Amazing! Kanbara got rid of Five God Dragon without attacking it!" the presentator commented, clenching his fist in excitement. "And he still has a monster with 4800 attack on his field!"

"I had honestly thought bringing it down would give me more satisfaction, but the way I got rid of it doesn't even give me the slighest bit of satisfaction," the blond muttered, then shrugging it off, throwing his hand forward. "Red-Eyes Darkness Metal Dragon! Direct attack! Darkness Metal Flame!"

Shooting a big fireball, Red-Eyes Darkness Metal Dragon gave obey to that command, seemingly to finish the duel for Brandon.

Cyber: 2900 → 0

He noticed her life fall to zero, but instead of giving him the win, the smoke the explosiong Red-Eyes Darkness Metal Dragon's attack had caused cleared, revealing Cyber standing with a glowing magic card.

"Oh?"

"WHAT!?" the presentator exclaimed. "Cyber's life has been reduced to zero but she is still in the duel! How can this be!?"

"My magic card that I can activate from my deck when my life hits zero, Game Over," Cyber clarified, panting slightly. "This card saves me from a loss only once and that's now. When I would take 1500 or more damage, I can place a Life Counter on this card. By placing one Life Counter on this card, I can send one monster from my deck to the graveyard and by placing two Life Counters on it, I can add a magic card to my hand."

The blond took a step back, slightly lowering his Duel Disk'ed arm. Of course things went to easy to just end like that. "Turn end."

"My turn... Draw...!" She added her drawn card to her hand, throwing it forward when she had done that. "I activate Game Over's effect to send Cyberdark Keel, Horn and Edge to the graveyard!"

Game Over: Life Counters: 0 → 3

"Then I activate its other effect to add the magic card 1-Up to my hand."

Game Over: Life Counters: 3 → 5

The amount of Life Counters increasing, Brandon only noticed the letters appearing above Cyber just now. Right now, they spelled 'Game O'. Frowning at her tactic, he wondered what she was up to. The magic card was pretty much suicide if she continued to abuse it like that.

"I activate the magic card, 1-Up! By removing a number of Life Counters from Game Over, I gain 500 life for each!" Cyber explained, the letters above her fading away. "I remove all five to gain 2500 life!"

Game Over: Life Counters: 5 → 0

Cyber: 0 → 2500

"At last, I activate the magic card Cyberdark Impact! By returning Cyberdark Keel, Horn and Edge to my deck, I can Special Summon Cyberdark Dragon from my extra deck with its summon getting treated as a Fusion Summon!" Cyber explained, the spirits of the three monsters appearing on the field as they merged together. The spirit of the three merged monsters solified, revealing a dragon-like monster.

Armored Black Dragon - Cyberdark Dragon, Level 8, 1000/1000

"And when Cyberdark Dragon is Special Summoned, I get to equip one Dragon-type monster from either player's graveyard to it," Cyber explained, Five God Dragon reappearing on the field as two cords attached it to Cyberdark Dragon. "Then, Cyberdark Dragon gains that monster's attack!"

Armored Black Dragon - Cyberdark Dragon: 1000 → 6000

Noticing that Five God Dragon returned to the field, Brandon balled his fist in triumph. "Hell yeah! Now I can take it down in a worthy way!"

"He lost it," Emily deadpanned from the audience, everyone else agreeing.

"Cyberdark Dragon's attack has surpassed that of Five God Dragon when it was on the field!" the presentator exclaimed. "This is amazing! Kanbara keeps encountering bigger walls on his way to victory! But despite that, he doesn't seem to mind!"

"And Cyberdark Dragon also gains 100 attack for each card in my graveyard!"

"What?"

Armored Black Dragon - Cyberdark Dragon: 6000 → 6700

"Then I activate another effect of 1-Up. By banishing it, I can add one magic card from my graveyard to my graveyard. And the one I choose is Cybernetic Freedom!" she declared, said card returning from the graveyard.

Armored Black Dragon - Cyberdark Dragon: 6000 → 6600

"I also activate Burial from the Different Dimension! This instant magic allows me to return three of my banished monsters to the graveyard," Cyber explained. "The monsters I return are Cyber End Dragon and two Cyber Dragons!"

Armored Black Dragon - Cyberdark Dragon: 6000 → 7000

Intently watching every move, Brandon's eyes narrowed. Inwardly, he was still contemplating on wether to use Red-Eyes Darkness Metal Dragon's effect to negate a magic card and if he should have used it earlier because with Cyberdark Dragon on Cyber's field, things didn't look all too good for him right now. But the duel wouldn't be exciting and a good challenge for him if he would have done and he would need to get rid of the only two cards in his hand to do that. However, if he could hold on until his next turn, those cards could ensure him a win.

"Second, I activate Cybernetic Freedom, treating all the monsters in my graveyard as Dragon-type monsters!"

Armored Black Dragon - Cyberdark Dragon: 7000 → 7100

"And as last, I activate the magic card Summon Loop!" Cyber announced, slotting it into the magic and trap card zone.

"Summon Loop?" Brandon repeated, raising an eyebrow.

"Summon Loop allows me to treat one Fusion monster on my field as if I have Fusion Summoned it," Cyber explained, smirking. "Which means, that Cyberdark Dragon's effect once again activates! This time, I equip it with the as Dragon-type treated Cyber End Dragon!"

Cyber End Dragon returned too, also getting attached to Cyberdark Dragon through two yellow chords. Honestly, it was a strange sight to see Cyberdark Dragon 'holding' two dragons that were at least two times it own size.

Armored Black Dragon - Cyberdark Dragon: 7100 → 11100

"Cyber's Cyberdark Dragon's attack has surpassed the 10000 limit!" the commentator blurted wide-eyed. "How will Kanbara plan to combat it!?"

"No way!" James exclaimed.

"This can't be his end," Eldon muttered.

"And in the first round already," Lamar commented.

"Cyberdark Dragon! Attack Red-Eyes Darkness Metal Dragon!" Cyber ordered, pointing at said monster. "Full Darkness Burst!"

Unleashing its attack, Cyberdark Dragon destroyed Red-Eyes Darkness Metal Dragon convincingly, causing a huge explosion.

Noticing the explosion and the fact that Brandon could do nothing about it, James, Eldon and Lamar's eyes widened. Had Brandon really just been defeated?

On the big screen, a quick replay was shown. Riley was watching it because she didn't want to see what would emerge from the smoke, and she noticed something strange. Right before Cyberdark Dragon's attack hit, Brandon seemed to smirk. But why would he do that when he was about to get defeated? Unless...!

"Guys! He's still in it!" Riley stated, getting a surprised look from everyone.

"Riley. Are you even paying attention?" Stephanie sneered. "We just saw him getting blown up in front of our face."

"Riley is right..." Emily mumbled, slightly surprised. She pointed at the smoke that began to clear. "Look!"

On the duel field's platform stood Brandon, life still in tact and with the trademark cocky smirk on his face. The only difference was that he had lost Red-Eyes Darkness Metal Dragon, but seeing that he was still standing, it was probably just a small price to pay.

"Amazing! Kanbara survived Cyber's seemingly fatal attack!" the presentator informed, not really sure himself how it was possible.

"But how?!" Cyber explained, taking a quick step back.

"My trap card. The one you seemed to have forgotten about," the blond replied, smirk remaining. "Guard Block reduced the damage from Cyberdark Dragon's battle with Darkness Metal Dragon to 0. And it also gave me a free card with it."

"Next turn it'll be over. There's almost nothing that can beat Cyberdark Dragon with attack this high," Cyber said. "Turn end."

"You said that you wanted to duel the Dragonic Emperor, but unfortunately for you, he's on a short holiday for the time being. But I'll just show you a glimpse of his power if that's what you desire," Brandon said with narrowed eyes, drawing his card before activating it. "Dual Summon allows me to Normal Summon twice this turn. I summon Alexandridragon and Axe Dragonewt."

Alexandridragon, Level 4, 2000/0

Axe Dragonewt, Level 4, 2000/200

The blond then threw his arm up in the air, the two dragons turning into energy streaks that disappeared into a swirling portal in front of him on the ground. **"Level 4 Alexandridragon, Axe Dragonewt, overlay!"**

Their roars were the last thing heard from them before disappearing, a whole new dragon beginning to form inside the portal.

**"Mighty, treacherous fangs of the deepest darkness, rise up against this foolish opression aimed against us! Tear them apart, dragon created from pitch-black darkness! Xyz Summon! Descend now, rank 4! Rebellious part of my soul! Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon!"**

Letting out a roar while swinging its tail, the black dragon descended behind Brandon, its fang looking as sharp and threatening as ever.

Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon, Rank 4, 2500/2000, Overlay Units: 2

"And now, I activate Cyclone to destroy Game Over." A cyclone emerged from the card, devouring Game Over in whole.

Cyber giggled. Was he just plain stupid or was he just trying to show off? "Even with Game Over gone, you can't win. Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon's attack is at 2500 while Cyberdark Dragon's is at 11200 now. You need a miracle to pull it off."

Brandon smirked, eyes narrowing in a taunting manner. Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon simply roared. "A miracle? All I need is Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon. Treason Discharge!"

Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon: Overlay Units: 2 → 1

Purple sparks wrapped Cyberdark Dragon and the two equipped monster together, Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon letting out a roar to display its dominance.

Armored Black Dragon - Cyberdark Dragon: 11200 → 5600

"Eh?" Cyber went as she noticed that Cyberdark Dragon's attack fell. "But how?!"

"Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon's effect. Treason Discharge halves the attack of one of your monsters, increasing Dark Rebellion's with the lost amount," Brandon explained.

"WHAT!?"

Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon: 2500 → 8100

Smirking once again, the boy threw his arm forward slowly.

"It's time to recruit a new dragon for the Dragon Ruler army. Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon. Attack!"

The dragon roared, the purple orbs on its wings glowing as its wings opened, getting them enveloped in blue thundersparks. "Lightning Disobey of REBELLION!"

Roaring one more time, the dragon flew off towards Cyberdark Dragon, piercing through the chest of first Five God Dragon before piercing through Cyber End Dragon's ony to end at Cyberdark Dragon's midriff. The purple sparks emerged from the monsters as Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon's fang made contact with their bodies, an explosion following as Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon managed to pierce through the three monsters and returning to Brandon's side.

Cyber: 2500 → 0

The platform Cyber was on exploded with her monsters, breaking apart while doing so, causing her to fall towards the big bucket of lava underneath the platforms. Preparing for the worst, she closed her eyes. It wasn't real lava, but maybe that way it would still hurt less?

But instead of that, she felt a grasp around her wrist. Looking up, she found Brandon riding on the flying Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon. The boy simply shot her a smirk. Wether it was because he won or because of something else, was unknown.

Cyber looked away, puffing her cheeks while blushing furiously.

**Brandon: WIN**

"Amazing! Cyberdark Dragon has been beaten and with it, Cyber, too!" the presentator shouted. "And the winner of the first Junior Youth duel is... BURANDOOOOOOON KANBARAAAAAAA!"

The crowd cheered loudly at the declaration while Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon safely returned the two duelists to the ground, the duel field fading away.

Brandon let Cyber step of Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon before doing so himself, the dragon fading away as his Duel Disk deactivated.

Sighing in annoyance, Cyber handed him the Five God Dragon card, as promised.

Taking the card in an almost too greedy manner, he looked at it before looking back at the silver-haired girl. "Is it really okay for me to have this?"

"Of course," she answered with a smile. "I promised, didn't I?"

"In that case, I'll gladly take the card."

Putting it away, Brandon shot her one more smirk before turning away. "For someone with no real dragons, you weren't that bad. I actually think you're one of the better duelists I've faced yet."

She wanted to retort about the 'no real dragons' thing, but she decided not to. By beating her with his 'real' dragons, he had proven that she didn't have a right to retort about it.

"I guess that's a compliment if a pro sa—"

"Says wh—"

At that moment, Cyber suddenly fell into his arms, not moving an inch.

A medical team quickly appeared, a neatly-dressed bespectacled man slowly followed.

The medical team took Cyber off Brandon's hands, who could do nothing more than watch with raised eyebrows.

"Sorry about that," the bespectacled man apologized, making a quick bow.

"And who exactly are you?" the blond asked.

"I'm the headmaster of Techno Duel School," the man said. "Or in other words, Cyber's Duel School."

"Then mind explaining me what this is all about?" the blond asked, pointing at the medical team that took the silver-haired girl away.

"Sadly, Cyber has heart problems," the man answered. "And it seems a heart attack decided to kick in at a very wrong time."

The blond looked away for a quick moment. Could it be that their duel was the cause of it? "How the hell can you be so calm about something like that?"

"Because it happens quite frequently," the man answered. "We know what to do."

He took out a piece of paper, scribbling something down. He then handed the piece of paper to the blond. "If you want any more information, please contact me, Kanbara-kun."

"Will do," he answered, putting the piece of paper in the pocket of his body warmer.

The man pushed his glasses further up his nose before turning away, following after the medical team, leaving Brandon standing all on his own.

He scratched the back of his head, eyebrows raised.

"Did I just duel someone into the hospital?"

* * *

"Xyz..."

The girl inspected the blond boy once more just to be sure. He used two Xyz monsters and he looked awfully much like the person she was shown, except for the hair, clothing and eye color.

But the face was exactly the same. There was no mistaking it: that was definitely the Xyz remnant.

Clenching her fist, she turned away from the screen.

"I will bring you down. Xyz remnant."

* * *

**"Let your silver armor shine! Crush the hope of everything that opposes you! Synchro Summon! Come forth! Level 9! Double-X-Saber Gottoms!"**

Summoning forth his monster, Kirito now stood even stronger.

"Gottoms! Attack!" Kirito ordered, throwing his hand forwards as Gottoms let out a cry while brandishing its swords before slashing through the opponent's monster.

?: ? → 0

**Kirito: WIN**

"LDS' Kirito Claymore pulls of a victory after overwhelming his opponent with his Synchro Summons!" the commentator shouted. "With today's display, Kirito has definitely shown to be a contender of the Maiami Championship title!"

Leaving the duel field, Kirito looked into the crowd quickly, his violet eyes locking with crimson ones.

Brandon's eyes narrowed while he smirked, while Kirito did the same but with a smile.

It was a way of letting each other know that they were waiting for each other further down the line.

* * *

"Alright everyone! Gather around!" Kate requested, clapping to get everyone's attention.

She quickly counted them all to see if they were all gathered, and to her own relief, Brandon was present too for a change.

"First of all, congratulations to Eldon, James, Riley and Brandon for winning their duels today," she began, the others beginning to clap for the four. "You can be proud of yourself."

Brandon seemed rather disinterested, while James and Eldon grinned like idiots and while Riley smiled awkwardly.

"Second of all, everything is done for today," Kate informed. "So make sure that you are present tomorrow at the designated time. Especially you, Kanbara-kun."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever."

Turning on his heel, the boy left the stadium with his hands hidden in his pockets to a, for Your Move, unknown location at a quicker pace than usual.

After all, he couldn't keep All-Star Trinity waiting.

* * *

The man pushed his glasses further up his nose. He tucked away the strand of white hair that ad fallen into his face, eyes narrowing as he thought back to the first duel of the Junior Youth category.

**_"Xyz Summon! Descend now, rank 4! Rebellious part of my soul! Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon!"_**

"Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon, huh?"

Yes, that definitely was how he called it. It definitely was that monster.

And that meant no good.

"The Apocalypse Bringer..." the man muttered, intertwining his fingers in front of his face. "Never had I thought that one of your pupils would want to do something like that... If he is aware of their power, that is..."

That duelist. Yes, he had definitely seen that duelist before, even though it was years ago. He still had the same blond hair and crimson eyes that burned with confidence.

"Brandon Kanbara-kun. We need to bring a halt to you."

* * *

**'Burandon' is the japanese pronunciation of his first name in japanese. 1-Up, Game Over and Summon Loop are OC cards created by Ghost83, so credits to him for that. The effects of the cards are fully explained in this chapter.**

**Cyberdark Dragon's effect is a mixed effect:**

**Cyberdark Horn + Cyberdark Edge + Cyberdark Keel**

**This monster cannot be Special Summoned except by Fusion Summon. When this monster is Special Summoned, select 1 Dragon-type monster from either player's graveyard and equip it to this card. This card gains attack equal to the equipped monster's attack. This card gains 100 attack for every card in your graveyard. If this card would be destroyed by battle, the equipped monster is destroyed instead.**


	27. Chapter 27

**I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh! Arc-V. I only own my OCs.**

* * *

Michelle had initially planned to go to Duel Plaza alone. It was right next to Your Move, and she was able to concentrate fully on her match that would be coming up at Maiami Championship later on the day.

But instead of being on her own, she found almost whole of S-Rank there. Once entered, she saw Eldon and Lamar talking about something, while Stephanie was laughing about something with Emily, while Chloe simply sat with them. Knowing that Eldon and Lamar were there, James would probably be somewhere too, and the same went for Paris, seeing that Emily and Stephanie were there. Riley was sitting alone, reading through what seemed to be a magazine.

Once again, the only exception was Brandon. Not that it surprised Michelle. He always seemed to have his own hidden agenda. Nobody knew what that hidden agenda was, no matter how much they tried. He still was a big mystery to everyone.

She looked around. Now, where to sit? She and Emily were now on better terms, and to keep it that way, it might've been a good thing to go and sit with Emily. But when she was with Stephanie, they always seemed to talk, or well, gossip, about things Michelle didn't really care about. She wasn't a gossipy person anyway, so that might have explained why.

Then there was Riley, but she was always being bothered by James, so she guessed Riley actually liked being alone at times.

Which only left one group, Lamar and... Eldon. Yup, she would definitely go and sit there.

"Hey guys," she greeted with a smile. "Can I sit down here?"

"Sure," Eldon replied.

Sitting down, Lamar immediately stood up, earning him a questioning look from both Eldon and Michelle.

"Won't you look at that! My drink is empty," he said. "I'll be getting us some new ones. I'll be right back."

Eldon blinked as he saw Lamar leave, shooting a look at his drink. "But it's still half-full... And I didn't even tell him what drink I wanted..."

"Sooo," Michelle began, hoping to draw his attention off the drinks and towards her, "how is it going?"

"How is what going?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Getting over Emily, improving your deck, your Maiami Championship nerves," the blonde summed up, before realizing what she had said. "Or aren't you trying to get over her after what we saw a while ago?"

Eldon pinched one eye closed as he thought back to that moment. Oh yeah, that moment.

He quickly scratched the back of his head, leaning back in his seat. "Well, I'm trying. I mean, why going after someone who doesn't have any interest in me in that way? It's just very unfortunate that it only took me so long that see that. Would have spared me a lot of rejections."

"At least you can't say you haven't tried."

"That's... very true," he answered, frowning. "I hadn't really thought about it that way yet... Oh well. How about you? Ready for your duel today?"

"I'm a little bit nervous, but I'm sure it'll be alright," she revealed, smiling. "How about you? Nervous for the second round?

"Of course. You've reached the semi-finals last year at your previous Duel School. You'll be doing fine," Eldon assured. "I'm not really nervous right now. But when I humiliate myself again, you know that I am."

He let out a short laugh, scratching the back of his sheepishly.

Michelle smiled to herself at that. Was that maybe the reason why she liked him? Because he, especially compared to James, Lamar and Brandon, was a total dork?

Or was it just that she found him more likable than the others because of his personality? He was at least more sociable than Brandon and a James who was extra sociable when around a girl or Riley, but mostly Riley (Not that it was difficult being more sociable than Brandon.)

Her thoughts were interrupted by a voice. A feminine one at that.

"Hey Eldon, Michelle," the voice greeted, placing her palms on the table. "Have you seen Brandon somewhere?"

Michelle and Eldon raised their eyebrows looking at each other before shaking their heads.

"Why are you even calling him that?" Eldon asked. "Everybody calls him Kanbara and he wants to be called that way."

"And why are you looking for him?" Michelle added.

"Well, seeing that we're all here, we can all go to Maiami Stadium together if he also comes," Emily answered.

"But James isn't here either," Eldon informed, looking around to spot him in case he wasn't paying attention and James did manage to enter without Eldon knowing.

"Hey guys!"

Speak of the devil and he shall appear.

They greeted back and James grinned planning to sit down but when he looked around, he noticed Riley sitting on her own.

"Oh! There's Riley!" he exclaimed. "See you later, guys."

"Well," Eldon began, "we're all together now."

Emily let out a sigh as she took out her Duel Disk, quickly beginning to type away before reading through once again.

_To: Kanbara, Brandon_

_From: Beaton, Emily_

_Subject: Duel Plaza_

_Could you come to Duel Plaza? Everybody is already here and we could all leave for Maiami Stadium together if you would come too._

_\- Emily._

She sent the message, putting her Duel Disk away. But then, she noticed someone looking at her with an odd look.

"Hey."

"What?"

"How come you've got him as a contact while we don't?" Eldon asked, pointing at her.

She blinked with raised eyebrows. She couldn't even answer that herself. Did they really not have him as a contact? Then, was she the only one of S-Rank who did have him as a contact?

She sighed once again, giving him her Duel Disk with Brandon's contact info on it. "Here. Note it down if you want it."

Nodding, Eldon quickly did so, Michelle following, before they gave it back to Emily.

At that moment, she heard a beep, informing her that she had received a message.

"Ah, it's Brandon," she noticed as she took out her Duel Disk again. She opened the message, a deadpan look finding the way to her face as she read it.

_From: Kanbara, Brandon_

_To: Beaton, Emily_

_Subject: RE: Duel Plaza_

_No._

_\- Kanbara._

Putting the Duel Disk away with a sigh, Emily placed her hands on her hips. "Well, seems we have to go without him."

"So then he won't come?" Michelle realized, earning a short nod from Emily.

"What is he up to anyway?" Eldon wondered, looking towards the ceiling while doing so.

* * *

Her eyes widened slightly when he entered so nonchalantly. He simply looked back with his usual look, noticing that she sat up in her bed.

She waved at him rather awkwardly, while he took a seat on the chair next to her bed, still not saying a word.

"Sorry for dueling you into this state," he apologized.

"It's okay," she answered, shooting him a smile. She then frowned, puffing her cheeks. "But you didn't seem to recognize me before our duel."

She showed him a picture in which she and someone who looked amazingly much like Brandon were depicted. Brandon inspected the picture with an unimpressed look, giving it back quick. "It looks like me, but that's not me. It's probably some weird fan that has a crazy obsession. Why do you even have a picture with 'me' in the first place?"

"You're the one who took it," she answered, poking her finger against his chest.

"Sure I did," he commented, smirking.

"But he had the exact same voice, only a little bit higher-pitched," she remembered.

"That says nothing. There are a lot of people who can also mimic voices quite good," the boy stated.

Cyber let out a growl of annoyance, shooting him a glare. "Fine. Keep denying it, dragon master."

This time, it was Brandon who growled, crossing his arms. "There's no such thing as a 'dragon master'. It's 'Dragonic Emperor' and nobody can use dragons as good as I can."

He then remembered where he actually came for, and he was really sure it wasn't to have a strange talk about some weird stalker that copied it.

"But how are you doing?" he asked.

"I'm fine," she responds.

"Why didn't you tell me about your condition?"

"Well-"

Then, a man walked in, interrupting her. "Oh? Is that your boyfriend?"

The blond simply shook his head.

"You might as well be," the man complained, sighing. "And you'd better make a mother of her!"

The boy blinked a couple of times, mouth falling agape. "What...?"

Cyber rubbed her temples, sighing before beginning to explain. "That's Trott. My older brother. He likes to play video games and helped me with creating my deck."

Trott smiled at the boy, introducing himself through a bow. "Would you be interested in a short, friendly duel with me?"

Brandon scratched the back of his head, still not sure what was happening. "Do things always go like this?"

"Well, he's on medicines, but I don't really know if that's the reason why," she said. "But there are very few who get to duel him, so you might as well accept."

"Surely, he must have heard something about me from someone if he mistook me for that. What the hell have you been telling him about me?" the blond asked, clearly annoyed. "Also, why do very few get to duel him?"

"Well," Cyber began, "he's colorblind and he lost interest in dueling years ago. But, he did watch our duel."

"Is that why he asked me to duel him?" the blond asked, then realizing something else. "And you've just totally dodged my other question."

"Yes," Trott answered for her, smiling. "I saw you catch her after the duel. Thereby, I dubbed you her 'knight in shining armor'."

"Honestly, a knight is way too big of a downgrade from an emperor," the blond stated, smirking.

"But do you accept my proposal?" the boy asked, his tone as polite and soft despite Brandon not answering him immiadetely when he asked it some minutes ago.

The boy took out his Duel Disk with a smirk, equipping it to his arm. "Very well. Then come."

Activating his own Duel Disk, he took a stand across Brandon, both holding their starting five cards in their hand.

"DUEL!"

**Trott (4000) versus Brandon (4000)**

"My turn. I activate Pot of Greed, drawing two new cards," Brandon declared, drawing two cards. "Then, I activate Fusion. Fusing Baby Dragon and Alexandridragon!"

The two dragons disappeared into a swirling vortex behind him, wiping up a wind.

**"Jeweled dragon. Baby dragon. Become one and travel back in time to prehistoric times and unleash the primordial power that is your very ancestor! Fusion Summon! Appear, first of the dragons! Progenitor Dragon - Wyarm!"**

Progenitor Dragon - Wyarm, Level 9, 2700/2000

"I set one card and end my turn."

"My turn. Draw. First, I set one monster. Then, I activate Typhoon, destroying your set card," Trott declared, a typhoon sucking Brandon's set card in. "Then, with Black Hole, I destroy your field."

The big dragon on Brandon's side disappeared inside of the black hole, making Brandon smirk.

"If you're already so afraid that you have to use up your Black Hole on Wyarm, then you'll be having death fears after seeing the others," the blond taunted, eyes narrowing.

"Is Wyarm the only card I should worry about?" Trott asked, dodging Brandon's taunting remark.

The smirk on the blond's face gave Trott his answer. The latter slotted a card into his magic and trap card zone. "I activate the effect of the destroyed monster Party Starter. Party Starter can Special Summon as many LV monsters that have a level of three or four from my deck as possible upon its destruction."

Armed Dragon LV3, Level 3, 1200/900

Ultimate Insect LV3, Level 3, 1400/900

Silent Swordman LV3, Level 3, 1000/1000

Masked Knight LV3, Level 3, 1500/800

Horus's Black-Flame Dragon LV4, Level 4, 1600/1000

"Talk about swarming..." the blond mumbled, even though he wasn't impressed with the monsters Trott summoned forth.

"I activate Masked Knight's effect to inflict 400 points of damage to you," Trott announced.

Brandon: 4000 → 3600

"Then, I activate Boss Loot, allowing me to send three LV monsters with the same level to the graveyard to summon their stronger versions from my deck," Trott explained, Armed Dragon, Masked Knight and Silent Swordman disappearing before their new forms took their place.

Armed Dragon LV5, Level 5, 2400/1700

Masked Knight LV5, Level 5, 2300/1300

Silent Swordman LV5, Level 5, 2300/1000

"If you want to Xyz Summon, now would be a good time to do so," Brandon stated, practically urging him to do so.

"I activate Masked Knight's effect to inflict 1000 points of damage to you," Trott declared.

Brandon: 3600 → 2600

Trott threw his arm into the air, his three monsters disappearing into a portal. **"I overlay the level 5 Armed Dragon, Masked Knight and Silent Swordman! Xyz Summon! Appear, rank 5! Assault Cannon RK5!"**

Out of the portal appeared a big cannon that floated into the air, ready to blast at something.

Assault Cannon RK5, Rank 5, 2000/3000, Overlay Units: 3

"Then, by detaching one Overlay Unit, Assault Cannon can inflict 600 points of damage to you!" Trott informed, pointing at the blond as it shot a firebullet at Brandon.

Assault Cannon RK5: Overlay Units: 3 → 2

Brandon: 2600 → 2000

"Honestly, are you even a duelist? The only way you managed to inflict damage is through effect damage," the blond commented, glaring. "You're a coward. Nothing more than a mere coward."

Trott ignored his remark, activating a magic card. "Evolution Boost gives a RK monster two Evolution Counters during each standby phase. Then, with my second magic card Experience Shower, Assault Cannon gains Evolution Counters equal to its rank."

Assault Cannon RK5: Evolution Counters: 0 → 7

"And when it has seven Evolution Counters, Assault Cannon RK5 can be used as Xyz Material for Assault Cannon RK7!"

"Xyz Summon! Appear, rank 7! Assault Cannon RK7!"

The cannon disappeared into the portal, the exact same cannon reemerging from it, with a smaller side-cannon attached to it.

Assault Cannon RK7, Rank 7, 3000/3500, Overlay Units: 3

"Turn end."

**Trott: 4000, Cards x0**

**Brandon: 2000, Cards x2**

"My turn. Draw." A black hole swallowed the cannon, making Brandon smirk. "Let's see how you like your own Black Hole tactic. Then, I discard Reactan and Tempest to Special Summon Redox from my deck."

Dragon Ruler of Boulders - Redox, Level 7, 1600/3000

"Furthermore, I banish Baby Dragon and Wyarm to Special Summon Tempest from my graveyard."

Dragon Ruler of Storms - Tempest, Level 7, 2400/2200

**"Level 7 Redox, Tempest, overlay! Xyz Summon! Descend! Rank 7! Thunderclap Knight - Gaia Dragoon!"**

Thunderclap Knight - Gaia Dragoon, Rank 7, 2600/2100, Overlay Units: 2

"Direct attack," Brandon ordered, Gaia Dragoon cloaking its lance into electricity, jabbing Trott with it.

Trott: 4000 → 1400

"Turn end."

"My turn. Draw. I activate Pot of Greed and draw two cards. Then, with Party Revival, I can target a LV or a RK monster and Special Summon it to my field while ignoring the summoning conditions," Trott explained, the cannon reappearing onto the field. "At this time, Party Revival attaches itself to Assault Cannon as an Overlay Unit. But with Delayed Skill Improvement, I can use Assault Cannon RK7 as materials to Xyz Summon Assault Cannon RK10 with its effects negated."

"Oh?"

**"Xyz Summon! Appear! Rank 10! Assault Cannon RK10!"**

Assault Cannon RK10, Rank 10, 4000/4000, Overlay Units: 3

"I attack Gaia Dragoon with Assault Cannon," Trott announced, the two big cannons and the two side cannons taking aim while each firing a firebullet afterwards.

Brandon: 2000 → 600

"Also, any Xyz Monster that has Party Revival as Overlay Unit, cannot be targeted by card effects," Trott explained. "Which rules out your Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon."

**Trott: 1400, Cards x0**

**Brandon: 600, Cards x0**

Brandon's eyes narrowed while he drew his card, immediately activating it. "I activate Treasure Cards from the Heavens, allowing us both to draw up until we have six cards in our hand."

Both drawing their six cards, Brandon immediately decided to reduce that number, activating another magic card. "I activate Dragon's Mirror! I banish Alexandridragon, Gaia Dragoon, Redox, Tidal and Reactan!"

The five monsters temporarily appeared behind the boy, disappearing into a swirling vortex of light.

**"Jeweled Dragon. Soaring thunder knight. Ruler of pebbles. Ruler of boulders. Ruler of storms. Sacrifice your souls to the gods and with the power of the elements, become one yourself! Fusion Summon! Descend, level 12! The great dragon that watches over our empire! Five God Dragon!"**

Five God Dragon, Level 12, 5000/5000

"Then, by Redox and Tidal's effects, I get to add one Earth monster and one Wind monster from my deck to my hand," the blond explained, the two cards that emerged from his deck being added to his hand. "When my opponent controls a 2000 or higher attack monster, I can Special Summon Schwarzschild, Limit Dragon from my hand."

Schwarzschild, Limit Dragon, Level 8, 2000/0

"I banish Schwarzschild!" the blond declared, the serpentine dragon getting enveloped in a dark flame. **"Metallic black dragon. Within your soul lays the wrath of the comrades of your kind! With your flaming breath of darkness, aid in the birth of your brethren to crush the opponent's empire! Special Summon! Descend, level 10! Red-Eyes Darkness Metal Dragon!"**

Red-Eyes Darkness Metal Dragon, level 10, 2800/2400

"And I activate Darkness Metal Dragon's effect to Special Summon Mythic Tree Dragon from my hand."

Mythic Tree Dragon, Level 4, 100/1400

"For my Normal Summon, I summon Clone Dragon."

Clone Dragon, Level 4, ?/?

**"Level 4 Mythic Tree Dragon, Clone Dragon, overlay!" **Brandon ordered, the two monsters disappearing into the portal. **"Mighty, treacherous fangs of the deepest darkness, rise up against this foolish oppression aimed against us! Tear them apart, dragon created from pitch-black darkness! Xyz Summon! Descend now, rank 4! Rebellious part of my soul! Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon!"**

Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon, Rank 4, 2500/2000, Overlay Units: 2

"Five God Dragon, attack Assault Cannon!" Brandon ordered, each head charging a blast. "God Wrath!"

Trott: 1400 → 400

"Now, Dark Rebellion, Darkness Metal Dragon! Direct attack! Lightning Disobey of Rebellion! Darkness Metal Flare!"

Unleashing their attacks, the two black dragons encased Trott's field in explosions followed with smoke. However, instead of disappearing, the two dragons returned to Brandon's field, at which he raised an eyebrow at, especially when he saw the smoke clear.

"The last effect of Experience Shower. By banishing it, I can end the battle phase," Trott explained, at which Brandon picks a card out of his hand.

"I set one card and end my turn."

Trott drew his own card, setting it immediately.

He then smiled at Brandon, saying, "turn end."

**Trott: 400, Cards x6**

**Brandon: 600, Cards x2**

"My turn. Draw. Direct attack, Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon!" Brandon ordered. "Lightning Disobey of Rebellion!"

Trott's set card flipped open, stopping Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon dead in its tracks as three big cannons came back onto the field.

"Saved Files allows me to Special Summon multiple monsters from my graveyard with the same type," Trott began, "however, with three of more monster being summoned, they all need to be of the same attribute."

"Replay. Dark Rebellion, go for RK3! Darkness Metal Dragon, go for RK5!" Brandon ordered, his set card flipping open. "Inspiration increases the attack of Darkness Metal Dragon with 700 until the end of my turn."

Red-Eyes Darkness Metal Dragon: 2800 → 3500

"Five God Dragon! Finish RK7!" Brandon ordered. "God Wrath!"

With all three cannons gone, Trott's field was empty again, however, since Brandon didn't have any attacks anymore. "I set one card and end my turn."

"My turn. Draw. I set one card and end my turn."

**Trott: 400, Cards x6**

**Brandon: 600, Cards x2**

Brandon drew his card, throwing his hand forward while holding his card in between his fingers. "Direct attack! Dark Rebellion!"

"Trap, activate! Final Clatter!" Trott shouted, his set card flipping over. "This card not only destroys all of your monsters, it also deals you 300 points of damage for each one destroyed!"

"Trap, activate. Trap Stun," Brandon countered. "Trap Stun negates the effects of other traps on the field this turn."

Closing his eyes briefly out of acceptance, Trott smiled, a barrier of light throwing Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon back to Brandon's field.

"The instant magic Scale of Life can be activated when you declare a direct attack that would make my life 0," Trott explained. "This card makes both of us take battle damage you inflict, while, when it is destroyed, increases my life with a 1000, while lowering yours with a 1000."

The blond scowled, sending Trott a devastating glare. "You're using cowardly tricks again. Tricks like these make me question your compatibility as a duelist. The fact that you seem to be content by only dealing damage through an attack once makes things even worse. I set one card and end my turn."

"My turn. Draw. Honestly, Cyber, you shouldn't just take my cards like Game Over without my permission," Trott scolded, adding the drawn card to his hand . "The instant magic RPG Pilot allows me to Special Summon a LV monster instead of conducting my draw phase but that monster has its effects negated."

"You shouldn't blame her for your cowardliness," the blond retorted, eyes narrowing.

"Game Over and Scale of Life are the only cards left we have from our parents," Trott explained. "Therefore, we treasure them dearly."

"Being an orphan is no excuse for your cowardliness."

Trott remained silent for a short while. He then smiled while setting a card. "Say, do you dress in purple?"

Brandon's eye began to twitch, a stress mark appearing on his forehead. "What's that for stupid question!?"

"Nothing. Nothing in particular."

"Then stop boring me with stupid questions and a lame duel. My turn. Draw. Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon, direct attack!" the blond ordered, throwing his arm forward. "Lightning Disobey of Rebellion!"

"Scale of Life will activate when your attack hits and we'll both lose," Trott explained, earning a smirk from the blond.

"I activated Darkness Metal Dragon's effect. I discard one card to negate the activation Scale of Life," he explained, discarding one card before playing another one. "And with my instant magic Mysterious Wok, I release Five God Dragon to gain life equal to its attack."

"Scale of Life's effect activates," Trott announced. "When destroyed, you take 1000 points of damage while my life increases with a 1000."

Red-Eyes Darkness Metal Dragon: 2800 → 3200

Brandon: 600 → 5600 → 4600

Trott: 400 → 1400

"Darkness Metal Dragon! Direct attack! Darkness Metal Flare!"

"Trap, activate!" Trott shouted, his set card flipping over. "Destiny Bond! If my life hit 0, yours will do too. But if Destiny Bond leaves the field, I gain 4000 life."

"Trap, activate. My second Trap Stun," Brandon countered, glaring "Your cowardly way of dueling... I'm ashamed to be a duelist right now."

Trott smirked, and he quickly examined his hand. "But would a coward even be able to give you a great duel like this one? There are also many duelist who utilize attack locks and effect locks and you might be facing one."

"You're not giving me a great duel in the slightest. Your just waiting time that I'm never going to get back," the blond answered, glaring. "Turn end."

"My turn. Draw."

While Trott drew his card, Brandon's right hand began to hover over his deck. He decided that this duel was going nowhere and the fact that Trott tried to win by only inflicting effect damage enraged him more than it should. So, if Trott made just one wrong move, the blond would simply surrender.

"I banish Assault Cannon RK3, RK5 and RK7 from my graveyard to Special Summon Dungeon Boss from my hand," Trott explained. "Turn end."

Dungeon Boss, Level 10, 0/0

"I see something that could be James in a clown costume when he might get drunk..." Brandon muttered, drawing his card. Noticing that it was a high-level monster that required three monsters to be banished but having 0 attack and defense, Brandon decided not to attack because there would definitely be a negative catch to it if he would attack it. "Turn end."

"I activate Dungeon Boss' effect!" Trott declared, pointing at the sky. "At my opponent's end phase, I can equip one of their monsters to Dungeon Boss! I equip Dark Rebellion!"

"What?"

Red-Eyes Darkness Metal Dragon: 3200 → 3800

But instead of its attack increasing as Brandon had initially thought by equipping Dark Rebellion, Dungeon Boss' attack stayed the same. Deciding to question it no further, Brandon held his hand ready again.

Trott drew his card, smiling. "The LV and RK monsters were just stallers. Monsters that separate the weak from the strong. "Your true challenge against me has only just begun!"

"What challenge?" the blond asked, frowning. "Everything you've done this whole duel is taking my attacks while inflicting damage to me in the most cowardly way possible."

"I activate the Ritual magic Ancient Winds! I banishing Armed Dragon LV5 and Masked Knight LV5, to Special Summon this level ten Ritual monster!" Trott shouted, a strong wind blowing over the duel field. "Ritual Summon! Appear! Sky Boss - Quetzalcoatl!"

A huge green quetzalcoatl descended down on the field, the wind blowing even stronger than before.

"Me and my big mouth," the blond went, seeing the size of the quetzalcoatl.

Sky Boss - Quetzalcoatl, Level 10, 0/0

"Turn end."

**Trott: 400, Cards x6**

**Brandon: 4600, Cards x2**

"My turn. Draw! I summon Deltafly. Then, by activating Darkness Metal Dragon's effect, I Special Summon Sapphire Dragon from my hand," the blond explained, the two dragons appearing on the field.

Deltafly, Level 3, 1500/900

Sapphire Dragon, Level 4, 1900/1600

**"I tune the level four Sapphire Dragon with the level three Deltafly!" **Brandon declared. **"Spread those wondrous and beautiful wings, guided by the winds of faith! Strike down at those who oppose us at light speed! Synchro Summon! Come forth, level 7! Clear part of my soul! Clear Wing Synchro Dragon!"**

Clear Wing Synchro Dragon, Level 7, 2500/2000

Red-Eyes Darkness Metal Dragon: 3800 → 4600

"Darkness Metal Dragon, attack Quetzalcoatl!" Brandon ordered, and the moment Darkness Metal Dragon began to charge, Quetzalcoatl roared, a storm raging over the duel field.

"When you attack, Quetzalcoatl shuffles all of your cards into your deck!" Trott explained.

"When a level 5 or higher monster activates its effect, I can negate it!" Brandon explained. "Clear Wing! Dichroic Mirror!"

Shooting rainbow lights at it, Clear Wing Synchro Dragon planned on destroying Quetzalcoatl, however, the rainbow lights never made contact because a large storm interfered, devouring both the rainbow lights and Clear Wing Synchro Dragon in whole.

"Quetzalcoatl's other effect. When the difference between our life is at least 1000, then Boss monsters are unaffected by my opponent's card effects and cannot be destroyed by them," Trott explained.

Brandon took a step back, eyes widening slightly. He began to realize it now. _'Was he... holding back this entire time!?'_

Trott drew his card with a smirk, activating it immediately. "I activate Boss Bash. This card allows me to Synchro Summon while using monsters from my hand and graveyard, but the Tuner's level is treated as two. **I tune the level four Armed Dragon LV4 and the level four Black-Flamed Dragon LV4 with the level two RPG Synchronizer! Synchro Summon! Level 10! Dark Boss - Reaper!"**

Cloaked in a black coat while holding a scythe, Trott's second monster was also a monster with 0 attack and defense.

Dark Boss - Reaper, Level 10, 0/0

"Turn end."

**Brandon: 4600, Cards x1**

**Trott: 1400, Cards x5**

"Honestly, you should start thinking about attacking sooner or later," Brandon stated, drawing his card. "Your just giving me opportunities to build a defense again. I summon Mirage Dragon. Turn end."

Mirage Dragon, Level 4, 1600/600

"My turn. Draw. I activate Purgatory of Nothingness, drawing one card. However, during my end phase, I need to discard my entire hand," Trott explained. "Turn end."

Discarding all cards in his hand through the magic's effect, it suddenly began to rain, the figure of a serpentine-like creature making an entrance on Trott's field.

"During the moment Boss Flow gets sent from my hand to the graveyard while I control 3 Boss monsters, I can Special Summon a Xyz monster from my extra deck ignoring the summoning condition. Come, Water Boss - Typhoon!"

Water Boss - Typhoon, Rank 10, 0/0

Brandon drew his card, adding it to his hand as he looked at Trott's field. Four monster of a high level, but they all had 0 attack and defense. Was this guy even planning on winning? "Are you going to attack next turn?"

"I don't even need to attack to win this," Trott said.

"Hmph. I'm not going to waste any more time," Brandon growled. "I'm giving you an ultimatum. If you haven't managed to beat me during your next turn, I will surrender. With that said, I summon Powered Tuner."

Powered Tuner, Level 4, 1400/1000

**"I tune the level four Mirage Dragon with the level four Powered Tuner! Synchro Summon! Being of light! Light End Dragon!"**

Light End Dragon, Level 8, 2600/2100

"Turn end."

"My turn! Draw." Trott shot the blond a smile, who only got his guard up even more, glaring back. "I activate Boss Fusion. With this, I can banish Boss monsters to Fusion Summon a Boss monster from my extra deck."

Dungeon Boss got destroyed, Quetzalcoatly crumbled to dust, Typhoon evaporated and Reaper vanished inside of the darkness, the aura they left behind beginning to merge.

**"Eternal labyrinth. Deity of wind. Liquid ruler. Judge of life. Let all elders become one to unleash the most frigthening boss of them all! Fusion Summon! Appear! Destruction Boss - Trott!"**

On the field in front of Trott appeared an exact copy of him clothed in a weird looking dragon armor, holding a spear in his hand.

Destruction Boss - Trott, Level 10, 0/0

"Eh...?"

Brandon blinked, completely dumbfounded. "Did you just... summon yourself?"

Trott nodded, gesturing to Destruction Boss. "I once was allowed to create a card and I decided to make it after myself."

"Aha..."

"Now, Destruction Boss gains 1000 attack for each Boss monster used for its summon!" Trott explained, Brandon's eye beginning to twitch.

"Oh look. You decided to give yourself a strong effect too," the blond deadpanned.

Destruction Boss - Trott: 0 → 4000

"Destruction Boss! Attack Light End Dragon!" Trott ordered, Destruction Boss rushing over towards Light End Dragon to impale it with its spear.

"I activate Light End Dragon's effect! Once per turn, I can permanently lower its attack and defense by 500 to lower the attack and defense of the monster it battles with 1500!" Brandon explained, Light End Dragon beginning to emit a harsh light. "Light Expansion!"

Light End Dragon: 2600/2100 → 2100/1600

Destruction Boss - Trott: 4000/0 → 2500/0

The spear still made contact with Light End Dragon and destroyed it, but by using Light End Dragon's effect, Brandon managed to lower the damage inflicted.

Brandon: 4600 → 4200

"And then it's other effect! Once, during either player's turn, I can banish Destruction Boss to summon back the banished Fusion materials!" Trott explained, while Brandon took a step back. "And what's better is that their attack and defense are at 4000 and their effects negated!"

The four monster reappeared, each already charging their attacks.

"Direct attack!"

Realizing that it was over for him, Brandon allowed his arms to fall to his side. The sheer power of all four the attacks ruffled his hair, body warmer and dog-tag while he opened his eyes with a pitiful smirk while being caught in the attack.

"Guess Master was right. Maybe I'm not as great as I thought I was."

Brandon: 4200 → 0

**Trott: WIN**

Duel Disk deactivating, a nurse walked in informing the blond that visiting hours are over. Putting his Duel Disk away, he hid his hands in his pocket, walking out of the door.

"I'm off to Maiami Stadium. My presence is required there," he informed. "Get well soon."

Trott sighed, halting him with his words. "Take this."

The boy caught the cards that were thrown at him. The Armed Dragon monsters. Not looking back, he put them away. He then walked out of the room, ready to head to Maiami Stadium.

_'When was the last time I fac_ed _defeat...? Has it been that long that I don't remember how it feels anymore...?'_

He shot a glance at the deckholder around his belt. He then held out his right hand; the hand he always drew his cards. The cards that have guided him through so often.

Master's words about his deck echoed through his mind. Those words he had spoken back then...

_"You're called the 'Dragonic Emperor'. However, you only use pure Dragon-type monsters. Might as well name yourself 'Dragon Emperor' instead."_

_"What are you getting at?"_

_"Add monsters that are dragons, but yet aren't. You already own a powerful one of those. Also, add more cards that can support Dragon-type monsters. Wether they are Dragon-type themselves or not."_

Master was right. If he did that, he could definitely surpass his limits. Then he could really be called the "Dragonic Emperor" instead of "Dragon Emperor" like some people mistake it for. Yes, that was definitely it.

He knew for sure now. Clenching his fist, his eyes narrowed.

_'I'll become stronger. **Much** stronger.'_

* * *

"How are you able to sit still at a time like this?"

Xandon looked at his best friend, taking off his headphones. "You were saying something?"

Shane let out a growl. "Nothing. Forget it."

Xandon continued to stare at his best friend, then shrugging. "You should calm down a bit, Shane."

"Calm down? Calm down you say?!" Shane fumed, clenching his fist. "Academia has destroyed Heartland and have the possibility of doing the same to Maiami City, and instead of doing something about it, we're sitting still and you tell me to calm down?!"

"Brother got this," Xandon replied.

"'Brother'?" Shane repeated, raising one eyebrow.

Xandon nodded. "Brandon will fight with us against Academia and he will win Maiami Championship."

"And that's exactly it," Shane countered. "We can't let Kanbara do this on his own. Not against Academia. I knew we should have just participated in Maiami Championship..."

"You know we can't, Shane. Brandon and I look alike and we would blow our covers to eventual Academia spies," Xandon informed, for one time actually making sense to Shane.

"Since when did you get so responsible?" Shane asked. "I knew you were in Heartland, but not in Standard."

Xandon shot Shane an amusing smile, stretching. "Let's just say Brother's personality is rubbing off on me."

* * *

**I'm not really sure yet on where to god with Five God Dragon's effect, so for the time being, it has its OCG/TCG effect but keep in mind that this might change along the way.**

**The 'Boss' monsters, 'RPG Synchronizer' and pretty much all cards of Trott except the LV monsters are OC cards created by Ghost83.**

**I hope you enjoyed this chapter and I wish you a nice day.**

**See ya!**


	28. Chapter 28

**I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh! Arc-V. I only own my OCs.**

* * *

**Technow, thanks for the tip! I'll make sure to note it down and use it at one point! Once again, thank you!**

* * *

Monarch duelist Charles!

* * *

"Alright. I told you to all meet up here," Kate said, placing her hands on her hips. "So where's Kanbara-kun?"

"Why are you even asking?" Stephanie asked.

"Yeah, he never does what others say," Paris added. "Talk about not being able to deal with authority."

"I'm right here, you know."

"EH!?"

Everyone looked back from their seats, finding the blond sitting rather disinterested in his own seat.

"When did you get there?" James asked.

"Doesn't matter," the blond replied. "I'm here like needed."

_'Even though I am this early because I needed to drop by All-Star Trinity...' _he added inwardly.

* * *

_"Oh? Kanbara, shouldn't you be with Your Move right now?"_

_"Not yet."_

_"Then why are you here exactly?"_

_"I wanted to discuss something with you," he said. "The semi-finals. That's the moment I want to return here."_

_"And why exactly at that moment?"_

_"Nobody of Your Move will be able to reach the semi-finals anyway. And because of that and their nature, they rely on me to win the tournament," Brandon explained. "However, revealing myself to be of All-Star Trinity all along will have a big impact on them."_

_Master remained silent, while the blond silently waited for Master to speak up again._

_"Very well. If that's what you wish than that is fine with me," he answered. "But why are you coming with that right now? Your second round duel is in two days. How can you already what you want to do?"_

_"Because I'll grow stronger. I won't be weak," he said. "And I'll make sure I'm strong enough when the semi-finals are there."_

_"Grow stronger?" Master asked, eyes narrowing. "What gave you that decision?"_

_"I lost to Cyber's coward brother," he answered. "But don't worry. He only managed to attack me twice. The rest of the damage was inflicted through effect damage, so it doesn't count. A wrong way of dueling never counts."_

_"A wrong way of dueling, you say?" Master repeated. He then let out a chuckle. "You're amusing, Kanbara. That your duel philosophy differs from that guy's doesn't mean that his way of dueling is the wrong way."_

_"What do you mean?"_

_"There's no such thing as a 'good way of dueling' or a 'bad way of dueling' per definition. Everyone has its own way of dueling and for that duelist his own way of dueling is the right way while for others it might be a bad way of dueling," Master explained._

_"We both know that that's the biggest bunch of nonsense ever." The blond boy took a stance, his crimson eyes narrowing as Master noticed a flame burning in them. "Dueling is a clashing between beliefs, ideals, between souls! When one monster clashes with another, feelings and passion can be brought over to the opponent through that monster. The fact that someone wants to win through effect damage only and is also proud of it, signals that he's fine with having no beliefs, ideals, passion, feelings or a soul whatsoever. It signals that he's fine with being a mere nobody."_

_"Your stubborness is going to be your death one day," Master said under his breath, earning a raised eyebrow from the blond boy. "But I can do nothing more than praise you for your view on duels, however, I must tell you that you shouldn't be fierce about people who don't see it the same way. Not everyone thinks of dueling that passionate as you do. The Pro League is a good example of that."_

_"What do you mean with that?"_

_Master only then realized what he had said. It was definitely something he shouldn't have. But right now, there was no point in hiding it for his apprentice._

_"Many in the Pro League only duel for the big amount of money. Therefore, they are even willing to lose on purpose in exchange for money," Master explained._

_"Are you saying that... there were duelists that lost to me on purpose just for money!?"_

_Master could see the boy glaring at him, demanding an answer. _

_"I don't know. But corruption is a common thing in the Pro League," Master answered. "But I'm not saying that there's no possibility that they lost just because you were too good."_

_"I've heard enough."_

_Master noticed the blond stomping towards the door, the former frowning. "Where are you going?"_

_"Maiami Stadium. I'm going to show you and everyone else that I can beat anything and anyone without them losing on purpose to me and crown myself Maiami Championship champion," the blond growled. "And I'll crush **everyone** who stands in my way."  
_

* * *

"Kanbara! Are you even paying attention, man?"

"Hm?" The boy's eyes snapped open, finding their way towards the owner of the voice.

James simply grinned back at him, pointing towards the duel field. "Emily's duel is about to start."

"I see." Crossing his arms, he leaned back into his seat, his uninterested look remaining. "Who's she up against?"

"Charles," Riley answered, looking at him with a worried glance.

"What? No fair!" he exclaimed. "I wanted to crush him!"

"I don't think you should stick your nose in family matters..." Chloe silently spoke, earning a glance from crimson eyes.

"But I wanted to crush him!"

"You sure are selfish, aren't you?" Paris asked, frowning at him.

"That's only because I wanted to crush him!"

Everyone sighed. Sometimes, nobody knew what to do with him.

* * *

"And for the next duel, it seems that we have a family quarrel!" the commentator blurted, getting the audience eager. "On one side, LDS' Charles Beaton and on the other side there's Your Move's Emily Beaton!"

Both duelist entered the duel field, a field magic flipping around in the air, waiting to be activated.

"Such a shame that I have to beat my beloved cousing to get through," Charles spoke in a melodramatic matter. "I would have prefered the caveman, but it can't be helped."

"How sorry for you that you won't beat me, then," Emily retorded, activating her Duel Disk.

After the chant (Did you honestly expect me to constantly include it for each Action Duel?), the commentator raised his hand up in the air, snapping his finger while calling out the name of the Action Field.

"Action Field, activate!"

The Action Field activated, a huge castle rising from the ground as Action Cards got scattered all over the field.

"DUEL!"

"My turn! I activate the Magic card, 1st Movement Solo, allowing me to Special Summon one level 4 or lower Melodious monster when I control no monsters," Emily explained, a purple-skinned woman with pink hair dressed in a mainly yellow dress appearing on the field. "I Special Summon Melodious Diva - Serena!"

Melodious Diva - Serena, Level 4, 400/1900

"Going for your ace right off the bat, huh?" Charles asked, smirking. "They didn't teach you at Your Move that you should wait with your ace? Especially when the duel has only just started."

Emily completely ignored and dismissed his remark, throwing her arm into the air instead. "I release Serena! E**nchanting melody echoing in the heaven. Awaken the sleeping virtuoso. Come, level 8! Melodious Maestra - Prodigy Mozart!"**

Melodious Maestra - Prodigy Mozart, Level 8, 2600/2000

"I set one card and end my turn!"

"My turn. Draw!" Charles smiled at the card drawn, taking another card out of his hand. "I discard one card to activate Berlines' effect to Special Summon it."

Vassal of the Flame Monarch - Berlines, Level 3, 800/1000

"Then, I release Berlines to bring out his regular form!" Charles declared, Berlines disappearing inside a fire as a new entity began to form within it. "Break free from your vassal! Flame Monarch - Thestalos!"

Flame Monarch - Thestalos, Level 6, 2400/1000

"And when Thestalos is Advance Summoned, I can randomly discard one card from your hand. If that card is a monster card, Thestalos will deal 100 points of damage to you equal to its level," Charles explained, as Thestalos shot a small stream of fire from his finger at one of the cards in Emily's hand.

The spirit of a monster in a purple dress briefly appeared on the field, screaming out in pain.

"Seems it was a monster. A level 7 one at that," Charles spoke, earning a glare from Emily. "Therefore, Thestalos will deal you 700 points of damage!"

Charging a small fireball in his hand, Thestalos threw it at Emily, engulfing her in a small fire.

Emily: 4000 → 3300

"Turn end."

**Emily: 3300, Cards x1**

**Charles: 4000, Cards x3**

"Monarchs, eh?" Brandon observed, eyes narrowing as they settled on Thestalos. "And it seems like one of the best builds available... But he's a top student of LDS... How come he doesn't abuse one of the three extra deck summonings?"

"Because Monarchs are monsters that work best without an extra deck," Michelle explained. "The ones that do have an extra deck are mostly hybrid builds."

"Actually," Riley began, getting everyone's head turned into her direction, "it lays a little bit different than that..."

"Well, then enlighten us, babe!" James urged with a big grin, getting him an annoyed look from Riley.

"Don't call me 'babe'! But fine, I'll enlighten you," she said, pausing briefly before talking again. "Charles always liked to be the boss of everything and everyone, a thing that comes back in his deck- the Monarchs. Because of that, he wanted to use them forever. However, the boss thing came back on the dueling area too. He wanted to be the best and according to him, you can only be that without using an extra deck because an extra deck nowadays is abused way too easily. And because of all that, he decided to join LDS."

"LDS?" Eldon repeated, frowning. "But isn't that like, the Duel School that's known for teaching all of the Summoning techniques with All-Star Trinity?"

"Well, he's an idiot, so that would explain things," Brandon butted in, seeming to be as serious as ever with his words.

"No, he joined LDS exactly because they teach extra deck summonings. Becoming the best duelist of the best Duel School in Maiami City that teaches all the extra deck summons would show that he's really the best," Riley explained.

"Hmph! LDS the best Duel School in Maiami City? All-Star Trinity is way better!" The blond then glanced around, realizing what he had just said. His eyes slightly widened, before he regained his serious expression, letting out an 'ah-hem'. "I mean, unless it's statistically proven that LDS is better, we can't call them better than All-Star Trinity."

"That doesn't matter right now," Stephanie sneered.

"Shut your mouth," the blond growled, sending her a glare. "You have no right of speaking here. You were already defeated in the first round."

Stephanie simply turned away with a huff. "Asshole."

"As I was saying..." Riley spoke, hoping to get rid of the tension that way. "Charles joined LDS for those reasons, but afterwards, he began to look down on all the others, he began to laugh at us, belittling us. Especially on me and Emily. We were inferior in his eyes and if we wanted to be at least on one-third of his level, we should join LDS, too..."

"So that's where this family love comes from," Brandon sarcastically said, smirking.

"My turn! Draw!" Emily quickly scanned her hand, then her field, and then Charles field. Right now, Prodigy Mozart had higher attack than Thestalos, which would allow it to destroy it. However, her set card could also inflict damage, but that wouldn't win her the duel yet. But, if she could get a couple more monsters out, the card would be way more effective and that in combination with an eventual attack, could finish Charles. So then, for now all she could do was... "I activate Prodigy Mozart's effect to Special Summon a Fairy-type monster from my hand! I Special Summon Melodious Diva - Elegy!"

Melodious Diva - Elegy, Level 5, 2000/1200

"And when she's Special Summoned, all Fairy-type monsters gain 300 extra attack!" Emily explained.

Melodious Maestra - Prodigy Mozart: 2600 → 2900

Melodious Diva - Elegy: 2000 → 2300

Charles, realizing that if he would want his plan to succeed, took a step back before turning away, going on the search for an Action Card that could help him out.

"Prodigy Mozart, attack Thestalos!" Emily ordered. "Graceful Wave!"

"Action Card, activate! Great Escape!" Charles declared, Prodigy Mozart's wave going up in thin air. "This card ends the battle phase!"

"Turn end..."

"Good. Then I can show you how it's really done," Charles boasted, drawing his card. "Now, because I control no magic or trap cards and don't have a copy of it on my field, I can Special Summon the Yomi Frog that I had dumped in my graveyard through Vassal to the field."

Yomi Frog, Level 1, 100/100

"Then, I activate the Magic card Dual Summon, allowing me to Normal Summon or set an additional time this turn," Charles explained, picking two cards out of his hand. "Now, I release Yomi Frog! Advance Summon! Ice Monarch - Mobius!"

Ice Monarch - Mobius, Level 6, 2400/1000

"And when Mobius is Advance Summoned, I can destroy up to two Magic or Trap cards on the field," Charles explained, grinning smugly while doing so. He then pointed at Emily set card, saying, "And I'll destroy your only set card! Freeze Burst!"

And with the set card gone, Charles grinned once more, slapping the second card on the armblade as Thestalos disappeared into a vortex of fire. "I release Thestalos to unleash his true form! Advance Summon! Explosive Flame Monarch - Thestalos!"

Explosive Flame Monarch - Thestalos, Level 8, 2800/1000

"Level 8 with just one release?" Eldon asked, raising an eyebrow. "Isn't that an illegal move?"

"The last forms of the Monarchs can be Advance Summoned by releasing one Advance Summoned monster and they also gain effects if the release was a certain attribute," Riley explained, her worried glance revealing that Thestalos' effect was no good.

"Just like the normal Thestalos, I can discard one card from your hand. In this case, the only one," Charles said, Thestalos shooting a stream of fire from its finger.

"No monster. Which means no damage," Emily said, discarding her card.

Charles let out a chuckle, grinning afterwards. "Man! People with extra decks are so pathetic! Thestalos also has a second effect. When it is Advance Summoned using a Fire monster, it deals 1000 points of damage to you after the discard!"

"At least I didn't become a total jerk by joining the highest rank of my Duel School!" Emily retorted, even though some people in the crowd of Your Move might slightly disagree with that.

"It's cute that you call me a jerk. But do you even know what kind of jerk you have in your ranks?" Charles asked with a smirk. "I mean, you ha—"

"What? We have what?" Emily asked, annoyed at the fact that Charles didn't finish his sentence. "If you start a sentence, have the guts to finish it!"

"It's nothing. It's not my duty to say that," Charles answered, knowing that if he would reveal Brandon's facade, both Leonardo Declan and the guy that was in charge of All-Star Trinity would hurt him more than he could probably imagine. "However, Thestalos' effect. There goes 1000 life for you, my beloved cousin!"

Thestalos charged a fireball in the palm of his hand, throwing it towards Emily as she was engulfed in flames once again.

Emily: 3300 → 2300

"Time for a battle! Mobius! Attack Elegy with Ice Lance!" Charles ordered, as Mobius created an ice lance that pierced through Elegy's chest, making her cry out in pain as she got destroyed.

Emily: 2300 → 2200

"And because of Elegy's destruction, Prodigy Mozart's attack goes down, which makes it able for Thestalos to burn her down!" Charles said, pointing at Prodigy Mozart. "Thestalos! Attack Prodigy Mozart!"

Emily, realizing that things would become really bad if Prodigy Mozart disappeared from the field too, went to search for an Action Card, hoping to be on time to prevent Prodigy Mozart's destruction.

"Action Card, activate! Break Shot lowers Thesatalos' attack with 900 points!" Emily exlplained, the fireball Thestalos was charging in between his palms shrinking in size.

In return, Charles grabbed the Action Card he had seen while searching for one before, activating it as response. "Action Card, activate! Twinkle Comet lowers the attack of Prodigy Mozart with a 1000 and you will be inflicted 500 points of damage!"

Explosive Flame Monarch - Thestalos: 2800 → 1900

Melodious Maestra - Prodigy Mozart: 2600 → 1600

Emily: 2200 → 1700

Thestalos hurled the big fireball towards Prodigy Mozart, devouring her within the wild flames entirely.

Emily: 1700 → 1400

"Lastly, I activate my Field Magic, The Dominion of the Legendary Monarch," Charles announced, the Action Field getting cloaked in a dark, sinister mist, making it unable for the people in the audience with the spots in the upper ring to see the duel properly. "This Field Magic disables you from summoning from your extra deck while I control an Advance Summoned monster while you control no Advance Summoned monster."

"Oh! What's this!? It seems that Charles has practically disable any of Emily's movements by preventing her from summoning from the extra deck!" the commentator shouted. "And with two monsters with more than 2000 attack out while Emily doesn't even have a card in her hand anymore, she seems done for!"

Smugly grinning, Charles shot her one more look, practically daring her to come up with something. "Turn end."

**Emily: 1400, Cards x0**

**Charles: 4000, Cards x0**

Emily gritted her teeth, as her fingers rested on the top of the card on top of her deck. Charles' Field Magic prevented her from getting monsters out of her extra deck, which prevented her from having enough firepower to defeat Thestalos or probably even Mobius, especially with Prodigy Mozart in the graveyard. And unless she could get her back to the field, there was not much she could do. "My turn! Draw!"

She smiled as she glanced at her drawn cards. Maybe, just maybe, if there was some sort of thing as a 'Duel God', then that God had maybe chosen Emily's side. "I activate Resurrection of the Death! And with it, I Special Summon Prodigy Mozart back to my field!"

With a heavenly tune, Emily's monster returned, even though it didn't bother Charles too much.

She then quickly took off, grabbing hold of an Action Card before activating it. "Action card, activate! Zero Penalty! This card reduces the attack of Thestalos to zero!"

Explosive Flame Monarch - Thestalos: 2800 → 0

"Prodigy Mozart! Attack Thestalos!" Emily ordered, throwing her arm forward. "Graceful Wave!"

And while Prodigy Mozart went on to attack Thestalos, Emily continued to find for a second Action Card, leaping all over the place. It didn't take her too long to find one, and despite the mist, she was able to see it and grab it, activating it too. "Action Card, activate! Wonder Chance! This turn, Prodigy Mozart can attack another time!"

At that moment, Thestalos went to pieces by Prodigy Mozart's attack, while Charles didn't even bother to shield himself from the force that came free.

Charles: 4000 → 1400

"Prodigy Mozart! Attack Mobius!" Emily ordered, Prodigy Mozart preparing for another attack. "Graceful Wave!"

The second attack was a success, too, Mobius leaving the field too to join Thestalos in Charles' graveyard.

Charles: 1400 → 1200

Landing down on the ground with grace, the audience began to get louder. The presentator himself couldn't believe what he had just seen.

"Seems that Emily has turned things around! From going to no field and no hand to emptying Charles' field! Unbelievable!"

"Turn end."

Charles drew his card, smiling at Emily while doing so. "Honestly, while I'm proud of the fact that my beloved cousin is not entirely useless in this game for someone who uses an extra deck, I'll just tell you now that I allowed you to have your spotlight from last turn. But now, it's over! I activate Pot of Greed to draw two new cards!"

Drawing his two new cards, his smile becoming a smug one as he activated a Magic card. "Cross Soul allows me to release your monsters for an Advance Summon for one of my monsters as if I controlled your monster!"

"What?!"

"I release Prodigy Mozart!" Charles shouted, a beam coming out of the card and pulling Prodigy Mozart to Charles' field before it disappeared from the field.

"Advance Summon! Storm Monarch - Raiza!"

Storm Monarch - Raiza, Level 6, 2400/1000

"When Raiza is Advance Summoned, one card on the field returns to the top of the deck. My Field Magic, Dominion of the Monarchs, now returns to the top of my deck due to being the only other card on the field," Charles explained, as Raiza called forth a vortex that got rid of the dark mist.

Emily, now having absolutely no defense anymore, quickly turned away to search for an Action Card.

"Not happening! Raiza! Direct attack!" Charles shouted, Raiza calling forth a vortex once again. The vortex raged over Emily's field with high speed, closing the gap between it and her almost instantly.

While looking back at how much time she still had left, her eyes widened. The vortex was only inches away from her.

Extending her arm, she attempted to grab the Action Card, however, she got drawn into the vortex.

And the Action Card remained ungrabbed. (Is that even a word?)

The vortex soon raged out, the wind declining as it threw Emily out.

Emily: 1400 → 0

**Charles: WIN**

"And the winner is LDS' Charles Beaton!" the commentator announced, at which the audience cheered and clapped.

Charles waved and bowed at the audience, while Your Move, except Brandon, watched it with a saddened expression.

Another one was out of the tournament.

* * *

**Actually took me 28 chapters to properly use Action Cards. Should pay more attention to those...**

**Cross Soul has its anime effect.**

**I hope you enjoyed this chapter and I wish you a nice day.**

**See ya!**


	29. Chapter 29

**I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh! Arc-V. I only own my OCs.**

* * *

**PureCorruption: Thanks you for your kind words and advice. I'll try my hardest to try take note of it and hopefully also successfully apply it onto the story. (even though this chapter was already done before I read your review so you won't see the focus thing back in this already.)**

* * *

The room was deadly silent and maybe it was exactly what she needed.

Once again, she had failed. And once again, at an important moment against a strong opponent. Despite not liking Charles, she couldn't deny the fact that he was a good duelist. And after their duel, she could say that he was too good.

How could she, Emily Beaton, call herself co-leader if she already got knocked out in the second round of Maiami Championship? How could she be called one of the best female duelists at Your Move when she had lost to All-Star Trinity's Master Rank duelist Justin and to her own cousin, who's one of the top students at LDS, Charles Beaton?

If she, as a top duelist of her Duel School, couldn't even stand her ground against a top student of another Duel School, was she even good enough to be called a duelist?

Drowned so deep in thoughts, she didn't notice the door opening, a boy stepping in. He looked around the room slowly. He had heard that Your Move had extra rooms that allowed the students to do stuff like their homework or just relax in between classes. (The latter was mostly for S-Rank.) But despite that, the quality of the sofas and chairs wasn't that good. Guessed he was just too used to his previous Duel School that had everything of topnotch quality.

Walking over to the sofa on which a blonde sat while hugging her knees, he crossed his arms, softly dropping them on her head, snapping her out of her thoughts.

She looked up, blinking as she saw a pair of crimson eyes staring into her blue ones.

"Yo."

She simply shot him a forced smile, continuing to disappear in her thoughts. The fact that she didn't bother to remove his arms after he had placed them back on her head, confirmed his thoughts.

"Mind telling me what's wrong?"

"**Nothing.**"

"Are you sure?"

"**Yup."**

The boy smirked once again as his thoughts were confirmed. He swiftly jumped over the sofa, taking a seat next to her. "I know you're lying. You're over-pronouncing your words."

Emily glanced to the side. Of course. He knew about that from that one time when Riley had told him.

"Not that I'm the one who's allowed to say it but, speaking makes this conversation much easier," he said, crossing his arms. Noticing that there still came no word, he rummaged through the pockets of his bodywarmer for a short moment, holding out something to her. "Here. Take them."

She unwillingly glanced to the side, noticing that he held out a couple of cards. Taking them off his hands, her eyes widened when she looked at them.

"But... these cards are quite rare..." she objected. "Why are you giving me these...?"

The blond shrugged, his eyes still closed. "I won't use them. So it's better to give them to someone who will."

"But I can't even win using my own cards..." she protested. "Then how am I supposed winning with these...?"

The crimson-eyed youth stood up from the sofa, smirking at her. "Because I'm going to help you to strengthen your deck. Thinking out new combos, simulate certain situations and how to get yourself out of them, everything and even more."

He then held out his hand to her, hiding the other one in the pocket of his jeans. "So how about it?"

Instead of taking the hand like others might have done, she looked at him with insecure eyes, continuing to hold the cards while hugging her knees with her other arm. "Why are you doing this...?"

"Because we're blonds of course. Blonds are amazing," he joked, smirking. "That, and I have faith in your skills. Don't let two losses get to you."

Briefly thinking of it, she took his hand, also taking a stand from the sofa.

"And besides," he added, smirking, "haven't I told you a smile suits you better?"

With raised eyebrows and parting lips she stared at the boy. This guy. He really was a strange one at times. And despite the fact that she didn't want anyone in the room besides herself eventually, she was still glad he came. Because, right now, he did manage to bring a smile to her face.

"See? All better."

And suddenly, the always overconfident Brandon Kanbara didn't seem what to do when she hugged him.

* * *

He once again looked at her with that grin of his. If she had learned one thing from all the years she had known him, then it was that that grin meant he was up to something.

"What do you want, James?"

"Nothing. Nothing much in particular."

"Then why are you here?"

"Just because." His grin then changed to a fake-hurt expression, probably realizing that Riley could see right through it. "I'm having the feeling you don't want me around for some reason."

"I have my reasons," she answered, shrugging as she continued to flip through the magazing, hoping that he would go away if she didn't pay too much attention to him.

Noticing that Riley wouldn't give him any attention on own initiative, he made sure that he would get her attention drawn to him.

"So... You. Me. Date. Today."

Riley abruptly dropped her magazing, looking at him with a mixture of both suspicion and shock. "What?"

"Ha! Made you pay attention to me!" he said, pointing at her.

Shaking her head, she rolled her eyes. How immature could a 15-years-old possibly be? At least not on James' level of immature that was for sure. Heck, even a 10-years-old wouldn't be at James' level of immaturity. But then again, it was what made James James and she guessed it was made people like him.

"But... it wasn't as if I wasn't being serious about it."

Once again, Riley shot him a suspicous look, putting down the magazine. She knew that James was romantically interested in her. In fact, he didn't even make the tiniest effort to try and hide it. And while she had to admit that he was handsome, had charm and that she wouldn't necessarily say "no" to a relationship with him, there were the cons that easily outweighted the pros.

He could get on people's nerves easily. If he did it on purpose or if it just happened was a thing she didn't know. As he had shown just earlier, he was also quite immature for his age, but that was actually what many people seemed to like.

But the heaviest weighing con was the fact that he was nothing more than a womanizer. He had dated more girls than that she could remember and count if she had four hands. That, made him not very trustworthy on that area. She would just become another 'trophy' to add to his collection eventually.

Unless he could prove that he was serious about her. And somehow, she knew how he could show it.

"I'm willing to go on a date with you."

James face lit up with a child-like excitement, but the "but" that followed busted his party.

"But only if you can reach the semi-finals of Maiami Championship."

If he wanted to have a date with her, then he would work really, really, really hard to achieve that. And because he would work hard, she would know that he really wanted to go on a date with her. But, it also worked out good for Your Move because they would have a duelist in the semi-finals for sure.

"So if I reach the semi-finals, you will go on a date with me?" he asked, wanting to confirm if he had not misheard her.

Riley nodded somewhat reluctantly. "But only one."

"That's fine!" James stood up triumphantly, pounding his chest with his fist. "I'll show you that I'm prepared to work my hardest for you! So get ready for that date because I'm going to reach those semi-finals!"

Taking his leave with a bright smile, Riley smiled to herself.

The fact that he was extremely motivated and had stated himself that he was prepared to work for her was a good sign already.

* * *

"Seems you're all ready and good to go again."

He handed her her deck back with a smirk, which she took with a smile.

Brandon and Emily had agreed to both come to Duel Plaza to settle the last things after a whole day of hard work.

"Thanks for your help."

And she was actually genuine about it. While she was reluctant at first, she later began to understand that, on the area of dueling, Brandon was very serious up to the point of strict when teaching others. However, he did have the best intentions with it, and the fact that he gave her quite a couple of rare cards, showed that he didn't just care about himself, which always seemed to be the case.

"Well, see you then."

Getting up from his seat, the blond waved without turning back, heading for the exit. However, Emily didn't let him reach that far.

"Wait!"

He turned around with one of his eyebrows raised, not really sure what Emily was up to.

"I... want to test my deck," she said.

"That's fine. But what does that have to with me?"

"I want to test it against yours."

"Oh?" His eyes narrowed while he smirked, an amused look settling on his face. He then looked Emily straight in the eye, noticing nothing but confidence burning in her blue orbs.

"Very well. Then come at me."

* * *

The two had taken a stance in the small duel arena at Duel Plaza, Duel Disks around their arms.

"Ready?" Brandon asked, sending her a confident smirk.

"Ready."

Getting a confident smile back, the two activated their Duel Disks, ready to go.

"DUEL!"

**Emily (4000) versus Brandon (4000)**

"First, I summon Shine Angel."

Shine Angel, Level 4, 1400/800

"Then, I activate the permanent Magic, Coart of Justice," Emily declared, a golden disk rising up in the air. "Once per turn, this card allows me to Special Summon a Fairy-type monster from my hand when I control a Fairy-type monster. So, from my hand, I Special Summon Atena!"

Atena, Level 7, 2600/800

"I set one card and end my turn."

"My turn. Draw!" Smirking, the blond picked two cards out of his hand, discarding them. "I discard Stream with Red-Eyes Darkness Metal Dragon to Special Summon Tidal from my deck."

Dragon Ruler of Waterfalls - Tidal, Level 7, 2600/2000

"Then, I summon the level 1 Tuner monster Guard of Flamvell."

Guard of Flamvell, Level 1, 100/2000

"**I tune the level 7 Dragon Ruler of Waterfalls - Tidal with the level 1 Guard of Flamvell!**" the blond declared, the two dragons roaring before going through the Synchro process. **"When the curtain of darkness comes down, the eyes of the underworld will open. Swoop down, darkness! Synchro Summon! Show yourself, level 8! One-Hundred Eye Dragon!"**

One-Hundred Eye Dragon, Level 8, 3000/2500

Emily took a step back, slightly disturbed by the black dragon and the eyes all over its body. "It looks very... disturbing."

"What did you expect?" he asked, a confused expression on his face. "That the ruler of darkness would be cute and cuddly?"

"It was more of a silent hope than an expectation."

Sighing, he took out another card out of his hand, slapping it on the arm blade. "I activate One-Hundred Eye Dragon's effect to Special Summon Golem Dragon in defense position."

Golem Dragon, Level 4, 200/2000

"Huh? But isn't that like... Red-Eyes Darkness Metal Dragon's effect?" Emily asked, raising an eyebrow.

"One-Hundred Eye Dragon gains the effect of all the Dark monsters in my graveyard," Brandon explained, smirking. "Which includes Darkness Metal Dragon, who I summon back with Resurrection of the Death!"

With the cross of light falling into his hand, a bright light emerged from it, the black dragon roaring as it returned onto the field.

Red-Eyes Darkness Metal Dragon, Level 10, 2800/2400

"Then I activate Darkness Metal Dragon's effect to Special Summon back Stream from the graveyard!" the blond declared, the small dragon taking the spot of its older version for a change.

Dragon Ruler of Water - Stream, Level 4, 1600/2000

"And with the Magic card, Dual Summon, I can perform an additional Normal Summon," Brandon explained, slotting the card in its zone. "Therefore, I summon Alexandridragon."

Alexandridragon, Level 4, 2000/0

**"Level 4 Alexandridragon, Stream, overlay!" **the blond ordered, the two energy streaks the dragon turned into disappearing inside a portal. **"Xyz Summon! Appear, rank 4! Dragon Devil - Queen Dragoon!"**

Dragon Devil - Queen Dragoon, Rank 4, 2200/1200, Overlay Units: 2

"Then now, Queen Dragoon. Attack Shine Angel!" the blond ordered, Queen Dragoon cloaking herself in flames entirely before ramming into Shine Angel.

Emily: 4000 → 3200

"I activate Shine Angel's effect! When he's destroyed, I can Special Summon a Fairy-type monster with 1500 attack or less from my deck," Emily explained, one of the feathers Shine Angel left behind brightly glowing. "Come, Melodious Diva - Sonata!"

Melodious Diva - Sonata, Level 3, 1200/1000

"And while she's on the field when Special Summoned, all Fairy-type monsters on my field gain 500 attack and defense!"

Melodious Diva - Sonata: 1200/1000 → 1700/1500

Atena: 2600/800 → 3100/1300

"And at this time, because I summoned a Fairy-type monster, Atena deals 600 points of damage to you!"

Brandon: 4000 → 3400

"I won't deal damage to you with this because of Sonata being in defense position, but that doesn't mean that I won't destroy it," the boy spoke. "Darkness Metal Dragon! Darkness Giga Flame!"

Unleashing a big fireball at Sonata, the dragon managed to burn her away, slowly breaking down Emily's field one by one.

Atena: 3100/1300 → 2600/800

"One-Hundred Eye Dragon! Attack Atena!" Brandon ordered, throwing his arm forward. "Infinity Sight Stream!"

All of the eyes on One-Hundred Eye Dragon's body lit up with a purple light, the dragon shooting a purple blast from its mouth at Atena.

"Trap, activate!" Emily shouted, her set card flipping open. "Photonize negates your attack and increases the attack of Atena with the attack of One-Hundred Eye Dragon!"

The blast went up in bright light, rendering Emily and Atena safe.

Atena: 2600 → 5600

"Turn end."

**Emily: 3200, Cards x1**

**Brandon: 3400, Cards x0**

* * *

Kai wandered around Duel Plaza, looking around to find the sources of the noises he heard. He had initially planned to only go to the toilet and return, but the noises had caught his attention, prompting him to check it out.

Whistling, he walked past a room with a monster he recognized, grinning to himself about it. "Oh, hey, that One-Hundred Eye Dragon. What a coinidence that I see it here. Wait a second!"

Walking backwards, he stopped in front of the room, seeing that his blond friend was dueling someone and that he had a field advantage was for sure.

Looking around if nobody was with him, Kai sneeked into the small duel arena, taking a seat in the stand behind the blond boy so that he could see the cards in his hand and which moves he would make. However, he did need to make sure his opponent didn't see him, so he needed to keep an eye open for that too.

"This should be interesting..."

* * *

Being stared down by his monsters, Emily drew her card. She would definitely bring them down. Each and every single one of them.

"I activate Pot of Greed, drawing two new cards!" Emily explained, quickly drawing her cards, before smiling as she activated one. "Then I activate Fusion! Fusing Canon and Elegy!"

In a swirling vortex of light behind her, the two monsters disappeared. Emily clasped her hands together as she began to chant.

**"With guidance of the baton, gather your power! Fusion Summon! Now come here to the stage! Melodious Maestra - Meisterin Schubert!"**

Melodious Maestra - Meisterin Schubert, Level 6, 2400/2000

"And with a Fairy-type monster summoned, Atena deals you 600 points of damage!"

Brandon: 3400 → 2800

"Atena! Attack Queen Dragoon!" Emily ordered, smiling as she pointed at said monster. "Finish this!"

Atena leaped off towards Queen Dragoon, and Brandon did nothing else but smirk before the attack hit, causing an explosion.

When the smoked cleared, Emily looked shocked. Atena, instead of attacking Queen Dragoon, had attack Golem Dragon and her weapon had broken in two because of it.

"B-But how...?"

"Queen Dragoon prevents the destruction of Dragon-type monsters in battle," Brandon explained, smugly smirking. "Which forces you to destroy her before attacking others. However, Golem Dragon's effect redirects all attacks towards him and because of Queen Dragoon's effect, he won't be destroyed. In other words, I have an attack lock that you have to break down in order to wipe out the remainder of my life."

"Turn end," Emily declared through gritted teeth. How foolish could she be to think that Brandon could be defeated that fast?

"My turn. Draw." Eyes narrowing as he activated his card, his fingers returned to his deck, drawing six new cards. "Sacred Cards from the Heavens lets us both draw until we have six cards in our hand."

Then, Queen Dragoon absorbed an Overlay Unit, bringing the flute in her left hand to her lips before blowing it. "I activate Queen Dragoon's effect. By detaching one Overlay Unit, I can Special Summon a Dragon-type monster from my graveyard with its effect negated and an attack ban for this turn. Be revived, Tidal!"

Dragon Devil - Queen Dragoon: Overlay Units: 2 → 1

Dragon Ruler of Waterfalls - Tidal, Level 7, 2600/2000

Red-Eyes Darkness Metal Dragon: 2800 → 3200

"Darkness Metal Dragon! Attack Meisterin Schubert!" Brandon ordered. "Darkness Giga Flame!"

With a fireball heading for her monster, Emily threw her hand forward, shouting, "I activate Meisterin Schubert's effect! By banishing Elegy, Canon and Shine Angel from my graveyard, Meisterin Schubert gains 900 attack!"

Melodious Maestra - Meisterin Schubert: 2400 → 3300

With Meisterin Schubert now overpowering Red-Eyes Darkness Metal Dragon, Meisterin Schubert countered with her own attack, piercing through the flameball and hurting Brandon instead.

"Queen Dragoon prevents Darkness Metal Dragon's destruction!" he declared, Queen Dragoon creating a barrier from her right hand in front of the black dragon.

"But you can't negate the damage!"

Brandon: 2800 → 2700

"Hmph. Not bad," the blond admitted, picking two cards out of his hand. "I set two cards and end my turn."

**Emily: 3200, Cards x6**

**Brandon: 2800, Cards x4**

"My turn! Draw!" Smiling when she saw her drawn card, Emily immediately slotted it into the Magic and Trap card zone. That would wipe the smirk off his face for sure. "I activate Forbidden Holy Chalice! This card increases the attack of Golem Dragon with 400, but it negates its effect!"

Golem Dragon: 100 → 500

"When I control a Melodious monster, I can Special Summon Canon from my hand!" Emily explained, summoning a monster with spiking blue hair.

Melodious Maestra - Canon, Level 4, 1400/2000

"And then, via Court of Justice's effect, I Special Summon Serena!" Emily declared, quickly taking out another card out of her hand. "And when I control a Melodious monster, I can Special Summon Sonata!"

Melodious Maestra - Serena, Level 4, 400/1900

Melodious Maestra - Sonata, Level 3, 1200/1000

"Dual Summon allows me to Normal Summon twice this turn!" Emily explained, revealing said card. "And because Serena can be treated as two releases for a Fairy-type monster, I release her! **Enchanting melody echoing in the heaven. Awaken the sleeping virtuoso. Come, level 8 Melodious Maestra - Prodigy Mozart!"**

Melodious Maestra - Prodigy Mozart, Level 8, 2600/2000

"And with the other summon I have left, I release Canon and Sonata to Advance Summon Archangel Christia!"

Archangel Christia, Level 8, 2800/2300

"And because I summoned four Fairy-type monsters, Atena deals 2400 points of damage to you!" Emily shouted, as Atena stabbed the crimson-eyed boy with her weapon.

Brandon: 2800 → 400

"Christia, eh?" the blond mused with an amused smirk while he got up. "Seems I made you too good. Now you've shut down my Special Summons."

"Boohoo. Poor you," Emily taunted, before throwing her arm forward. "Atena! Destroy Queen Dragoon and help him out of his misery!"

Atena once again attacked Queen Dragoon, this time succeeding, however, Brandon's set card flipped open, surely helping him out.

"Trap, activate," he simply said. "Guard Block negates the damage and lets me draw one card."

Red-Eyes Darkness Metal Dragon: 3200 → 4000

"And now with Queen Dragoon gone... Schubert! Attack Golem Dragon!"

Smirking once again as Emily's monster unleashed her attack, the blond allowed the attack to come, before the eye on One-Hundred Eye Dragon's chest showed an image of Queen Dragoon in it, and the dragon created a barrier with its claw, protecting Golem Dragon.

"Seems you forgot that One-Hundred Eye Dragon gains the effect of all Dark monsters in my graveyard," the blond taunted. "In other words, my attack lock remains yet to be broken."

Gritting her teeth, she picked out her second to last card, the duel field changing into a floating temple. "I activate the Field Magic, The Sanctuary in the Sky. I also set one card and with that, I end my turn."

"My turn. Draw. I activate Giganticize, which doubles One-Hundred Eye Dragon's attack because my life is lower."

One-Hundred Eye Dragon: 3000 → 6000

Without wasting anymore time, the boy threw his arm forward, eyes narrowing. "Darkness Metal Dragon! Attack Prodigy Mozart! Darkness Giga Flame!"

Shooting a big fireball at the red-dressed woman, Emily was brought to trouble again, but she smiled confidently as the fireball devoured Prodigy Mozart, the temple shining briefly as she disappeared.

"Oh?" Brandon went, raising an eyebrow in both interest and slight confusion.

"My Field Magic makes damage of battles involving Fairy-type monsters 0," she explained with a confident smile. "You can do nothing now. Just end your turn."

"Is that so?" he asked, smugly smirking. "Then I'll just destroy stuff. One-Hundred Eye Dragon, Infinity Sight STREAM!"

The eyes on its body lit up with a purple light and the dragon shot a purple blast at Meisterin Schubert, while Emily continued to smile confidently.

However, with the force of the attack being too strong, Emily got thrown back. Luckily, the Sanctuary in the sky prevented damage, otherwise she would have been in a tight situation.

And while she was still down on the ground, Brandon already declared his last attack. "Tidal. Attack Christia with Tsunami Maelstrom."

Summoning forth a tsunami, Emily's field got washed over, Christia being drawn into the maelstrom that followed causing her destruction.

"And because I can now Special Summon again, I use Darkness Metal Dragon's effect to summon back Queen Dragoon," the blond explained, a bright flame appearing onto the field before an upper body emerged from it while the lower body got formed by the flames.

"I activate Hand Severing. Because I have less than four cards in my hand, I can discard them all and draw an equal number of new cards," he explained. "For you, because you have no cards in your hand, you can draw one card. And because I sent three Dragon-type monsters, Darkness Metal Dragon's attack increases again.

Red-Eyes Darkness Metal Dragon: 4000 → 5200

"Turn end."

**Emily: 3200, Cards x1**

**Brandon: 400, Cards x4**

"I'll just tell you now: if you can't beat me this turn, it's over for you with what I have left in my hand," the blond informed, eyes narrowing. "So get up and make your move count."

Emily slowly got up, panting heavily. The power, despite not dealing any battle damage of One-Hundred Eye Dragon surely was just as scary as that it was itself. But she couldn't let it get to her. If only this move could be executed without trouble, she could win this!"

Her set card flipped open and Brandon looked at the card, waiting for an explanation. "Trap... activate...! Contest for the Lord allows both of us to only have one attribute on the field...!"

Brandon's eyes widened. Only one attribute, meant that he needed to get rid of either three monsters or just one. However, whatever he would choose, his attack lock would be broken.

"I choose Dark."

And with that said, Golem Dragon went up in pieces. As the pieces flew through the air in front of his face, the blond boy realized it.

_She managed to break my attack lock... _His shock turned into a smirk, eyes closing out of acceptance. _Not bad._

"And with that, you have no monster that can draw the attack to it!" Emily shouted, throwing her arm into the air before pointing at Queen Dragoon. "Atena! Attack and destroy Queen Dragoon!"

This time throwing her weapon at her, Queen Dragoon got pierced through the chest. She let out a cry before getting destroyed, disappearing in the smoke of the explosion.

Smirking with closed eyes, the boy lowered his Duel Disk. The display Emily had shown him wasn't half bad, and on top of that, she managed to break the attack lock. And besides that, he helped her to restore her confidence and not break it all down again. Therefore...

_'I allow you to have this one, Beaton.'_

Falling on his butt through the force of the explosion, the boy's two dragons that were still left disappeared from the field, meaning one thing...

Brandon: 400 → 0

**Emily: WIN**

Blinking a couple of times because she couldn't believe it, Emily watched the boy sitting on the ground, rubbing his head. She smiled proudly as she realized that she had broken his lock and the rest of his life. Walking over to him, she stopped in front of him.

"My butt..." he muttered, still rubbing his head before noticing the hand Emily offered. Accepting it to help him up, the boy smirked. "You defeated me... Not bad."

"Not bad?" she repeated, raising an eyebrow at him with an amused smile. "I totally handed your ass to you~."

"Sure you did," he said, putting away his Duel Disk. "Well, be proud of yourself for breaking the lock. Not many managed to do that."

"But of course I am," she said, whipping her hair back. "I am simply amazing, it was only a matter of time before I broke it."

From the moping girl with less-than-zero confidence was nothing left anymore, the usual Emily taking her place with a confident and proud smile.

However, Brandon worried more about something else. A certain feeling he had. He actually felt good helping her to restore her confidence.

Was he actually beginning to change into a person who started to care slightly for others?!

He would definitely drop by All-Star Trinity later to get some sense smashed into him.

* * *

"You're late."

"I'm always late. You know that."

"Yeah. But this time, you're even later than usual."

"Have we ever cared about that?"

A silence overcame the two boys as they started their walk down the usual route to school, a yawn occasionally slipping out of the blond's mouth. Kai, however, decided to break that silence.

"I saw you dueling yesterday," he said, staring straight ahead.

"Oh?"

"Yeah. You used that disturbing looking dragon that you brought with you from that trip from Synchro Dimension with Master some time ago," he spoke, his face adopting a difficult expression as he tried to remember the name. "What was it name? Sundered Lie Dragon or something like that?"

"One-Hundred Eye Dragon," the blond corrected, letting out another yawn afterwards. Why did school always had to start so damn early? "But in all fairness, I didn't notice you slipping into Duel Plaza's duel arena. But then again, it's you I'm talking about."

"That hurts, Kanbara. That really hurts," Kai said, pretending to be offended.

"And your face hurts my eyes. Hear me complaining?"

Kai let out a chuckle before another silence fell. What he was about to say now could go either very wrong or very good. He was hoping for the latter. Adjusting the collar of his school uniform, he quickly wondered when Brandon would wear his like normal people do, before speaking up again.

"I was sitting in the stands right behind you. I could see your cards," Kai explained, looking at him with a serious look. "Why did you let her win?"

"Let her win?" the boy asked, stopping as he raised his eyebrow at his friend. "I don't know what you're talking about."

With that said, he continued walking. Kai quickly followed, but he didn't buy his friend's words.

"You had Resonating Barrier - Mirror Force set. If you would have activated that, you could have gotten rid of her whole field and direct attack with one of your monsters on your turn to win the duel. And in case something would happen to those monsters of yours, you still had Resurrection of the Dead in your hand," Kai explained. "So why did you let her win?"

"Honestly, your eyes were deceiving you, Mizuumi," the blond answered, smirking. "So just forget about it."

Still not believing the blond, Kai shot him a suspicious look. He let out a sigh. There was no mistaken it. Those really were the cards he had seen. But then again, Brandon would never admit he actually let someone win a duel. So, he just decided to let it go, even though he still didn't believe it.

"Mizuumi. Could you do something for me?"

"Anytime."

"When school's out, I want you to duel some sense into me at All-Star Trinity. Just attack brutally without holding back."

"Why exactly?" Kai asked, narrowing one eye while he raised the one of the other.

"Because I'm starting to become nice. I don't want to be nice."

"Don't worry. I'll get it done!"

As they continued their way to school talking about the normal things, with occasionally a yawn of himself passing through, Brandon smirked to himself.

It was good to know that, no matter what would happen, he always had Kai to count on.

* * *

**Photonize has its anime effect. One-Hundred Eye Dragon has its anime effect but then in Synchro version of course. (So with normal Tuners and "+'' instead of "-")  
**

**Yes, I know that Riley's reason for going on a date with James makes no sense and is absolutely flawed, but it's a story about a series in which the world revolves around cardgames. What did you expect?**

**Also, I decided to change Kai's last name to Mizuumi because I think it fits him better and I will try from this point onwards to also try and include Japanese names, even though they won't be very good. (The names of the current characters will probably remain unchanged though.)**

**I hope you enjoyed this chapter and I wish you a nice day.**

**See ya!**


	30. Chapter 30

**I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh! Arc-V. I only own my OCs.**

* * *

Trick or treat! - The ex-Master Rank duelist, Marcellos!

* * *

As Lamar sat down before glancing at the clock, he realized that there still was time left before class started. And with his second round duel of Maiami Championship coming up, he decided to check his deck upon any improvements needed or not.

And for as far as he could see, there wasn't anything necessary to add. He hadn't checked yet who his opponent was, but whoever it was, he would definitely beat him or her.

"Yo, Lamar!"

Turning his head to the side, Lamar noticed his friend Marcellos walk to his seat next to Lamar's. With a grin, they both did a weird handshake before Marcellos sat down.

"Ready for the second round?" he asked, leaning back in his seat.

"Pretty much," he answered. "How about you?"

Waiting for an answer, Lamar leaned back in his own seat. He didn't really know why he asked it, because he knew the answer anyway.

Marcellos used to be a duelist at All-Star Trinity Duel School. He already knew that long before some of their duelists dueled against those of Your Move. But, Marcellos wasn't present at that time, which probably indicated that he didn't have that much of a rank in that Duel School. And well, as long as nobody knew that Marcellos and Lamar were friends and that Marcellos was an All-Star Trinity duelist, why tell them?

He didn't really know if Marcellos was still part of that Duel School, mostly because he had been very busy with preparing for Maiami Championship, but it wouldn't really matter too much if he wouldn't. Marcellos would just continue to be Marcellos regardless.

"I'm totally ready," he answered, grinning as he turned to Lamar. "Especially because of who I'm dueling."

Lamar raised his eyebrow in curiosity. Did literally everybody check who their opponent was at least two days before the match itself?

"Erm... who exactly are you dueling?"

Marcellos raised one eyebrow in amusement before he let out a chuckle. "You're a funny guy, Lamar."

"What's so funny...?" he asked, eyes awkwardly darting all over the room.

"Don't act like you don't know, man!" Lighthearted punching him on the arm, Marcellos leaned back into his seat again, shaking his head in amusement. "We're dueling each other!"

Blinking a couple of times, the boy's mouth fell open. "We are dueling?" He pointed to himself and Marcellos for emphasis. "We are actually dueling?"

Grinning, Marcellos confirmed it with a nod.

Lamar felt his chances just instantly got shrunk.

* * *

"Shouldn't you be at Maiami Stadium?"

Kai looked back from the sofa he was sitting on, seeing how his blond friend took his beloved German Shepherd of the leash, giving it freedom throughout the house.

"I told them I was ill," he answered, walking to the fridge to take a drink. Bringing one for Kai with him, he returned to the living room, taking a seat on the sofa next to his friend. "It's not like it matters. Maiami Championship is broadcasting on television until the very end, so I prefer watching it here. And it spares me a headache from those idiots too."

At that moment, Tyson jumped up onto the couch, occupying the space in between the two boys. The two boys themselves diverted their attention to the television, waiting for the duel to start.

"So, how do you think'll win?" Kai asked, taking a sip from his drink afterwards.

"Marcellos."

"You know that he needed to return his deck to Master because he transferred away from All-Star Trinity, right?" Kai asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I know. But Marcellos knew it wasn't his own deck to begin with. He will probably have his own deck prepared for Maiami Championship too," Brandon explained, folding his arms. "Besides, he was a Master Rank student. He's practically obliged to win."

"I guess you're right," Kai spoke, letting out a sigh.

"Now shut your face," the blond ordered. "Their duel is starting."

Indeed keeping his face shut, Kai simply watched at the television.

Xandon quickly took a seat on the ground, right in front of the sofa to watch the duel too.

It got annoying when Kai accidently kicked him in the back of the head for the fourth time, though.

* * *

Everyone of Your Move and the rest of the stadium waited for the opponent of Lamar, who scratched the back of his head once again, to show up.

While doing that, Kate anxiously bit her manicured nails, prompting Chris to frown.

"If you continue to do that, you might bite your fingers of," he joked, shooting her a smile.

Noticing what she was doing, she immediately stopped biting her nails, letting out a sigh instead. "I'm sorry. It's just that I'm very nervous. We only have James-kun, Eldon-kun, Lamar-kun, Riley-chan, Michelle-chan and Kanbara-kun left to represent us. If Lamar-kun loses today, our chances of improving the Duel School's reputation will become even smaller and smaller."

"I'm aware of that. But all we can do is have trust in him," Chris said. "Trust is the best bit of motivation, remember?"

"Right."

Lamar scratched the back of his head once again, while the audience began to get fed up with waiting for his opponent.

"Man, what's taking Marcellos so long?"

At that moment, the roof of Maiami Stadium closed, darkening the duel fields entirely while spotlights provided the lighting.

Within the darkness, Will-o'-the-wisps showed up, circling around each other as they got the audience captivated.

On a trapeze high in the air (Where that trapeze came from was something nobody knew) a boy held on, swinging through the air with it before making a salto to land down on the duel field.

Seeing his spectacular entrance, the audience began to clap, the boy bowing out of respect.

"Talk about an exciting entrance!" the commentator said, while Lamar watched the duelist with raised eyebrows.

"Yo, Lamar!"

He actually should have expected that from Marcellos.

* * *

"What the hell did I just watch...?" Brandon asked, blinking at the screen in front of him.

"I don't know," Kai answered, getting up with a grin. "But I'm getting popcorn in case there's more!"

"It surely was entertaining," Xandon added, nodding in an impressed manner.

* * *

The activated Action Field had changed the duel field into a cemetary-like setting, slightly disturbing some people in the audience.

Marcellos looked around in a content manner, while Lamar still didn't really know what exactly just happened.

"Hey, don't look so difficult, Lamar!" Grinning, Marcellos spread his arms. "The stage his been set for our duel! Your keeping everyone waiting like this!"

"Right. Right."

Seeing that Lamar activated his Duel Disk, Marcellos did the same, making it able to start the duel.

"DUEL!"

**Marcellos (4000) versus Lamar (4000)**

"I'll go first!" Marcellos announced, picking one card out of his hand. "I activate Terraforming to add a Field Magic to my hand. Then, I set two cards and end my turn."

"He... didn't summon a monster?" the commentator asked, scratching the back of his head. "Well, erm... it surely is different from other duels we've seen. That's for sure!"

"Erm... Alright, I guess? My turn! Draw! First, I activate Ultra Athlete Stadium!"

The whole duel field changed into a more cybernetic stadium, the sports field within it mixing with the cemetery of the Action Field.

"Then, I summon Ultra Athlete Midfielder, which sets Stadium's effect in motion!"

Ultra Athlete Midfielder, Level 4, 1200/1000

"When a Ultra Athlete is Normal Summoned, I can add a Ultra Athlete monster from my deck to my hand," Lamar explained, doing so. "Then, I return Midfielder to my hand to activate the added Playmaker from my hand."

Ultra Athlete Playmaker, Level 8, 2600/2000

"And now that a Ultra Athlete monster is Special Summoned to my field, Stadium's effect activates again!" Lamar declared. "Now, the attack of all monsters I control increase with 500!"

Ultra Athlete Playmaker: 2600 → 3100

"Furthermore, I activate the Magic card, Ultra Athlete Signing Deal from my hand!" Lamar announced. "With this card, I can Special Summon one Ultra Athlete monster from my deck with its effects negated and it can't be used as a material to Xyz Summon or Synchro Summon. Now come, Ultra Athelete Mighty Slugger!"

Ultra Athlete Mighty Slugger, Level 5, 2300/700

"Then, I take 300 damage per level, which is 5!" Lamar added, as Stadium's lights went on again. "And also, because a Ultra Athlete is Special Summoned to my field, the attack of all my monsters increases with 500 points again!"

Lamar: 4000 → 2500

Ultra Athlete Playmaker: 3100 → 3600

Ultra Athlete Mighty Slugger: 2300 → 2800

"Now! Ultra Athlete Playmaker! Attack Marcellos directly!" Lamar ordered, Playmaker throwing his ball at Marcellos, who oppossed it with a smile.

"I activate the effect of Ghostrick Frost in my hand! When my opponent declares a direct attack, I can Special Summon this card in face-down defense position and switch the attacking monster to that same position!" Marcellos explained, setting one monster on his arm blade while Lamar powerlessly watched as Playmaker got turned face-down.

"In that case, I'll attack your set monster with Mighty Slugger!" Lamar said, as Mighty Slugger threw up a ball and hit it full-power with his bat.

"Trap, activate! Ghostrick Roleshift!" Marcellos shouted, his set card flipping open. "This card, once per turn during my battle phase, lets me change one of my set monsters to face-up attack position. If that monster was a Ghostrick, one of your monsters will be set!"

Marcellos set card flipped open, revealing a small, clothed snowman.

Ghostrick Frost, Level 1, 800/100

"Ta-da! It's a Ghostrick!" Marcellos informed. "Therefore, Mighty Slugger will become a set monster!"

Mighty Slugger began to spin at high speed, ultimately resulting in him becoming a set card.

"I set one card and end my turn!"

**Marcellos: 4000, Cards x3**

**Lamar: 2500, Cards x2**

"Alright! Let's continue this show shall we!" Marcellos said, drawing his card, adding it to his hand and picking out another one. "I activate a Field Magic of my own! Ghostrick House!"

Marcellos' side of the field changed to the interior of what highly resembled an abandoned house, Ghostrick Frost, seemingly at ease there, immediately took a seat on the small sofa that was present.

"Then, I summon Ghostrick Mummy and he lets me perform an additional Normal Summon or set this turn, so I also summon Ghostrick Stein!" Marcellos declared, slapping two cards on the armblade, bringing out a mummy and a monster that highly resembled Frankenstein's monster.

Ghostrick Mummy, Level 3, 1500/0

Ghostrick Stein, Level 3, 1400/0

"I attack with Ghostrick Stein!" Marcellos declared, getting a gasp from everyone in the audience.

"But you can't! Both Playmaker and Mighty Slugger's defense is bigger than Stein's attack!" Lamar pointed out. "You'll only end up hurting yourself. It's like running into a wall just because you want to!"

"That's why Ghostrick House is here! Monsters can't attack set monsters!" Marcellos explained. "Instead, they can direct attack!"

"Direct attack?!"

Stein wacked Lamar with its fist, giving him a small bump on his head.

Lamar: 2500 → 1100

"And when Stein inflicts battle damage to you, I can add one Ghostrick Magic or Trap from my deck to my hand." Doing so, Marcellos smiled, throwing his hand forward. "Mummy! Direct attack!"

Lamar, quickly looking around in panic, leaped away, grabbing hold of an Action Card that he slotted into his Magic and Trap card zone.

"Action Magic, Zero Penalty! This card reduces the attack of Mummy to 0!" Lamar explained, the hit that Mummy gave Lamar resembling more of a pat than a wack because of it.

Ghostrick Mummy: 1500 → 0

"There's still Frost!" Marcellos informed, throwing his hand forward once again. "Go, Frost!"

Frost shot a small blizzard at Lamar, the strenght of it not enough to even attempt and bring the temperature down, but it was enough to lower Lamar's life.

Lamar: 1100 → 300

"Then now, I activate the effects of all three my Ghostricks! Once per turn, I can set them!" Marcellos declared, changing their positions on the armblade. "For my last trick, I'll set one card and end my turn. I'm giving the turn back to you now."

"My turn! Draw! First, I flip my Ultra Atheletes face-up again!" Lamar declared, his monsters reappearing in their full glory with their attack reset. "Then, I summon Ultra Athlete Midfielder, which allows me to add an Ultra Athlete to my hand through Stadium's effect!"

One card emerged from Lamar's deck. He took it out, adding it to his hand. "Then, I return Midfielder to my hand to Special Summon Ultra Athlete Dreadnought Dunker!"

Ultra Athlete Dreadnought Dunker, Level 7, 2500/1800

"And now that an Ultra Athlete is Special Summoned to my field, all monsters I control gain 500 attack!" Lamar explained.

Ultra Athlete Playmaker: 2600 → 3100

Ultra Athlete Mighty Slugger: 2300 → 2800

Ultra Athlete Dreadnought Dunker: 2500 → 3000

"Dreadnought Dunker, attack!" Lamar ordered, before he began to smile. "And because of Ghostrick House, that becomes a direct attack!"

"Lamar goes in for the kill!" the commentator exclaimed. "Will Marcellos have something up his sleeve for this!?"

"Now then! I will treat you to my next trick!" Marcellos declared, set card flipping open. "Trap, activate! Ghostrick Panic! This card allows me to change any number of set Ghostrick monsters into face-up defense position, then for each Ghostrick changed, I can change an equal number of your monsters to set position! I change all three my set Ghostricks into face-up defense postion and set all of your Ultra Athletes!"

Frost, Mummy and Stein emerged onto the field, the Ultra Athlete spinning around at high speed again before they went into a set position.

Lamar, gritting his teeth, wasn't prepared to end it with that, and as a result, he went on the hunt for an Action Card. After finding one, he slotted it into the Magic and Trap card zone. "Action Magic, Shot Bomb! This card inflicts 1000 points of damage to my opponent!"

"Ghostrick House's second effect activates! Effect damage and battle damage other than that inflicted by Ghostricks is halved!" Marcellos explained, the bomb depicted on the Action Card crashing into him afterwards.

Marcellos: 4000 → 3500

Instead of returning back to his spot across of Marcellos, Lamar continued to search for another Action Card. Once again, he was succesful and he slotted it into the Magic and Trap zone. "Action Card, Rocket Spike! This card destroys one of your monsters and inflicts 1000 points of damage to you! I destroy the monster on the far left!"

The monster on the far left, Ghostrick Mummy, got hit in the gut by two flying shoes, destroying it without any mercy.

"Ghostrick House halves the effect damage!"

Marcellos: 3500 → 3000

Quickly scanning the cards in his hand, Lamar considered his options. With Call of the Living Dead set, he had nothing more than a bluff, especially because he had no monsters in his graveyard to summon. If he wanted to prevent himself from losing through Ghostrick House, he needed to have more than that.

"I set one card and end my turn!"

**Marcellos: 3000, Cards x2**

**Lamar, 300, Cards x2**

Marcellos drew his card, smiling as the spotlight went on and shone over him. "Everyone! I shall end this duel this turn! First, I change all my set monsters to face-up defense position!"

He changed his monsters battle positions, summoning forth Frost and Stein, the former creating a small blizzard for the show while the other pretended to escape it, getting some laughs out of the people.

"Then I set one monster and through the effect of my Ghostrick House, I will direct attack!" Marcellos announced, pointing at Lamar. "Stein! Frost! It's time to treat him to a small trick! Direct attack!"

"Trap, activate! Dimensional Prison banishes the first attack of Stein!" Lamar explained, Stein disappearing within a dimensional rift. He then went on the search for another Action Card, slotting it into his Magic and Trap card zone when he had it. "Action Card, Evasion! This card negates Frost's attack!"

The blizzard died down in an instant, leaving Marcellos with no attacks left. However, the boy smiled, jumping upon the small table in Ghostrick House. Upon doing so, the table began to float, multiple Will-o'-the-wisps burning around it.

"Everyone! I wanted to end this duel in a spectacular way: through attacking!" Marcellos informed, arms spread. "However! My opponent didn't allow that trick! Therefore, I shall result to something else! I activate a Magic card from my hand, Book of Sun! This card allows me to switch one set monster into face-up attack position! And because I only have one, I shall flip that monster!"

The set card flipped open, revealing a werewolf, who seemingly wore torn pants while its neck and left wrist was chained.

Ghostrick Warwolf, Level 3, 1400/1500

"The monster that revealed itself to you is Ghostrick Warwolf! And upon being Flip Summoned, Warwolf's effect will be activated!" Marcellos declared with a smile. "For each set card on the field, it will deal 100 points of damage to my opponent!"

Lamar quickly counted all the set cards. Three of his monsters, plus one Trap Marcellos still had and the Call of the Living Dead he had of his own. That made five. More than enough to beat him.

"It's over..." he realized.

"With five set cards on the field, Warwolf will deal 500 points of damage to you!" Marcellos shouted, Warwolf letting out a howl before scratching Lamar with its non-chained claw, throwing him back as his life fell to 0.

Lamar: 300 → 0

**Marcellos: WIN**

Frost and Warwolf performed an act within Ghostrick House for the audience, as Marcellos was still standing upon the floating table, bowing to the audience. "Thank you for witnessing our show, everyone! We hope we treated you to a nice experience!"

While the audience clapped in excitement, Lamar took a sitting position, watching with mixed feelings.

While he knew that Marcellos as a former All-Star Trinity student would be too strong for him and that it would become a quite one-sided match, he didn't expect that it would be as one-sided as it turned out. And while Lamar, despite dueling against him and losing, enjoyed the show Marcellos tried to make out of it, there was one big problem.

He lost.

And that meant less representation for Your Move once again.

Things weren't going very well for them.

* * *

**So yeah, that was it for this week. I hope you enjoyed this chapter (And willing to forgive me for not being so familiar with Ghostricks, which probably reflects into the duel) and I wish you a nice day.**

**See ya!**


	31. Chapter 31

**I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh! Arc-V. I only own my OCs.**

* * *

**A thing regarding the Action Duels: I don't really remember that it has been stated in the anime that a normal Field Magic cannot be activated when an Action Field is in play. Even though it sounds logical. But, in one episode, (The one in which Yuya dueled against the annoying quiz guy that no one likes) an Field Magic was activated that seemed to replace the Action Field that was in play at that time. **

**Also, in non-Action Duels, it's possible for two Fields to exist at the same time, so I'm not really sure how that is with an Action Field and a normal field magic in play.**

**So, because of that, I 'change the rules' a little bit until it's officially stated within the anime or a possible Arc-V manga that it's impossible, that Field Magics can be played while an Action Field is in play. (Or that a Field Magic replaces the Action Field if you prefer that because Yugioh Wikia stated that every field magic can be used as an Action Field apparently.)**

* * *

"Won't you look at that. We're all here and who's missing again? Exactly, Mister hotshot himself."

"It's hard to show up when he's ill," Kate informed.

"Ill? Do you all believe that?" Stephanie asked, raising an eyebrow. "He has an excuse for literally every time he doesn't show up! We can't rely on someone like that!"

"How unfortunate that we have to rely on him then," James joked.

"Since when are you capable of using words like 'unfortunate'?" Eldon asked, raising an eyebrow.

Eldon never got an answer to his question because Kate spoke up before James could do so.

"Well, this is something that concerns him too, so it's better if he at least try to be here somehow," Michelle said.

"Talking about people who're not here," Chris began, looking around to see if he was correct before saying something that might be incorrect. "Where's Emily?"

"She needed to do some things for school," Riley answered. "But she'll be here soon."

* * *

_'Rettsu sutaato! Isshun no senkoo kara'_

_'Rettsu faindo! Soo, boku ga iku beki Wei'_

_'Rettsu sutaato! Otanoshimi wa kore kara'_

_'Redii goo! Riaru no maku ake'_

Xandon continued to walk through the park as the music blasted out of his headphones. Unlike before, when people would throw him weird looks because of his clothing, they now all just raised an eyebrow at him wearing the hood of his jacket. Not that hard to understand with the weather around Maiami City.

But, Xandon knew full well why it was needed. With his face being exactly the same as Brandon's, and the fact that nobody seemed to be able to tell them apart despite the obvious differences (except for Kai, Master and Shane who could easily tell who was me because of certain reasons) the hood was necessary to make him as good as unrecognizable to prevent confusion.

Not that he wasn't used to the face obscuring. Because of Shane's antics of brutally beating Fusion users into the next millenium, hiding was a common thing until Master picked them up.

But, with a change of wardrobe and some help of All-Star Trinity, all of the mentioned stuff wasn't that much of a big deal anymore.

And with Xandon being drawn into both his thoughts and the music, he forgot the world around him.

Until he made contact with the ground of that world when someone bumped into him.

"Sorry. Are you alright?"

Briefly rubbing the back of his head, the boy looked up to the person who bumped into him. The moment he saw her face, a wave of both shock, surprise and happiness surged through him.

He quickly stood up with eyes widened, looking at the girl. It was her!

The girl raised an eyebrow, slightly tilting her head to the side. "Brandon? What are you doing here? Why are you wearing all black and a hood suddenly? And what have you done with your face?"

Brandon? Ah. Once again someone who made that mistake. But, she looked so much like _her. _

Thinking of something else as a way to confirm if it really was her, the boy's attention travelled down to her wrist. His eyes, once again, widened.

_'That bracelet...'_ he thought. _'She has it too... But this one is different...!'_

Stepping away from the girl, he placed his hood back over his head. He shot the girl an apologatic smile, saying, "I'm sorry, my mistake. I mistook you for someone very close to me."

"It's fine," she assured. "I mistook you for someone I knew as well."

The boy turned away, continuing his way through the park while the music continued to blast through his headphones.

Emily continued to stare into the direction he walked off to, the image of both him and Brandon flashing through her mind.

"That's strange. He looks exactly like Brandon..."

Talking about the blond boy, he probably was at Your Move right now. A place where she also needed to be.

Shrugging off what had just happened, she quickly continued her way.

As she ran past a tree and disappeared into the distance, Xandon, who had been hiding behind that tree after making sure he was out of her sight, came out and watched into the direction she walked off to.

"That bracelet..." he muttered. "Time to report to All-Star Trinity about it."

* * *

"President, it seems the LDS students are not the only targets."

"Oh?"

Johnson placed a couple of cards on Leonardo's desk, a duelist depicted on each of them. Leonardo inspected the cards for a short time without saying a word, adding them to the stack of other cards in the drawer of his desk.

"How about All-Star Trinity's Xyz users?" Leonardo asked. "Any signs of them being targeted?"

"We've heard nothing on them yet. But we don't know what conditions the culprit has set for someone to be a target," Johnson explained.

Skimming through the pile of cards of duelists that had already been sealed, Leonardo's eyes narrowed. "The targets don't seem to be the best of Xyz users," he observed, placing the cards back into the drawer when he was done.

"But President, there are LDS students in there. Some even take the best Xyz course," Johnson informed.

"I know that," Leonardo revealed, the tone in his voice as calm as ever. "However, while I hate to say it, some of their duelists- Kai Mizuumi, the two members of Resistance- are superior to our Xyz students."

"Judging from your words, they will become your Lancers, then?"

"They are potential canditates, yes," Leonardo confirmed. "However, there are more canditates I have to choose from. Even though those three are the most likely to become Lancers, too."

On a big screen multiple profiles of duelists popped up, the words 'Lancers Selection' above them.

Johnson calmly and slowly inspected all the duelist profiles, until he came to an 'interesting' discovery. "President, some of these duelists are already out of the tournament."

"You didn't honestly think that I would select my Lancers based on who reaches furthest into the tournament, did you, Johnson?" Leonardo asked, while Johnson stayed quiet. Noticing that, he smiled to himself. "With luck, one can reach far. I also select my Lancers based on their usefulness and many other criteria."

"How can someone who's knocked out after one or two rounds be useful in any way?" Johnson asked.

"While he's a bad example, let's take All-Star Trinity's Kai Mizuumi," Leonardo spoke. "Outside of his skills, he's also needed to keep Kanbara in check. The Resistance members Shane and Xandon know quite a lot about Academia. That's something that can also work to our advantage."

"President, I mean no disrespect, but for the ones who serve no usefulness outside of their skills, you might want to make sure they don't get paired up against duelists of LDS or All-Star Trinity. Otherwise their selection for the Lancers is a little bit too unbelievable."

"Then it's a good thing that I decide my Lancers," Leonardo spoke. "Besides, as long as you show what you got and lose, you still have a chance of becoming a Lancer if I deem their skills good enough. And for the matching up part, it wouldn't really be fun and believable if the strong duelists coincidently only get less skilled duelists and breeze through the tournament with ease."

Johnson opened his mouth again, but quickly closed it. "I can't argue with that. I shall support your decision, President."

"Good," Leonardo answered, getting out of his chair with a content smile. "Now let's get ourselves some coffee."

* * *

"And you are speaking the truth about not knowing if the bracelet has another function?" Master asked, receiving a nod from Xandon. "I see."

"I didn't know if Brandon already informed you of it, but I felt you need to know," Xandon said, as Master let out a chuckle.

"I called Kanbara to ask him about it and his reaction was simple: "Why did I not know about this?!" Master said, mimicking the boy's tone and words. Then, he let out a sigh. "Maybe if he actually payed attention to something else than just the things he takes interest in, he would have known about that girl having a bracelet."

Yup, that definitely sounded like him to Xandon's ears.

* * *

The man watched in content as the girl finished the simulator's monsters off, winning her the duel. If this was a sign of what to come, then success would be guaranteed.

As the girl left the simulation room, she heard clapping. Holding her guard up, she immediately turned towards the source of the clapping, letting out a sigh as she saw who it was.

"Ah, it's just you, headmaster."

"Sorry for scaring you," he apologized, pushing his glasses further up his nose. "That was a nice display there. You seem to be ready for him."

"Of course. That's my job, isn't it?" she asked, fiddling around with her Duel Disk before putting it away. "All the training we've done will be of no use otherwise."

Upon hearing her words, the man smiled. He could count on her to take things like that seriously.

"Please, be gentle with the poor boy," the man spoke. "I wouldn't want my friend to get mad at me because you eradicated his favorite pupil."

"I'm not going to eradicate him. That's not my goal. Not initially, that is," the girl spoke. "Only when he refuses to step away from their power. Instead, all I need to do is defeat him and make sure that he can't start the apocalypse."

Smiling once again, the man pondered on what to do. Should he tell her that that wasn't the boy's intention or should he just motivate her even further to make sure she beats him?

But then again, he reminded himself that that wasn't really in his nature, so he decided to do neither of both.

Wiping a strand of his white hair away, the man shot the girl a smile, his eyes narrowing. "You will definitely defeat him, won't you?"

With a nod, she gave him his answer.

"I will definitely acquire the Dimensional Dragons."

* * *

When a screen popped up in front of him, one of Master's eyebrows shot up. Who would contact him like that? Definitely not Leonardo Declan. He would drop by. Neither would it be Kanbara. He would just use his Duel Disk to call or send a message.

When he noticed the face of the caller, his lips curved into a reminiscent smile. Of course he would be the person to contact him like that.

"Ah, it's you," Master spoke up. "You look like you have been doing great. It's good to see you again."

"Indeed. It's good to see you again, too," the man spoke. "And yes, I have been doing great. How about you?"

"I've been doing great too. And while I appreciate you contacting me, I want you to cut to the point," Master said, no fierceness whatsoever in his voice. "Because I harshly doubt you are contacting me so suddenly just to ask how I have been doing."

"As observant as always." The man let out a hearty laugh. It really reminded him of how it used to be. "The day has come. They will finally duel each other."

"So it's about that," Master realized as he smiled to himself. "Indeed. I've been looking forward to it since the moment I realized she was from your duel school."

"I'm interested to see your ultimate creation. If he takes after you in terms of dueling, I would be trembling in her place," the man laughed.

"I can tell you that he's not the boy you've met years ago," Master informed. "To be more specific: that boy is gone. But don't worry, he still has ways to go."

"Oh, but she isn't the girl you have met years ago either," the man shot back, smiling. "Or maybe she is and is hiding it underneath her exterior. Perhaps you wil never know."

Master let out a chuckle. "Innocence is a thing you can't simply take away. However, I'm interested to see what your best student can do against mine. And I'm sure Kanbara thinks the same about it."

"Let's see what he thinks when he's defeated," the man boasted, pushing his glasses further up his nose.

"Defeated?" Master let out another chuckle, shaking his head in amusement before recovering. "As if his pride would allow it."

They both let out a laugh at their boasting towards towards each other, like it used to be during old times.

"Now, for more important matters..." the man spoke up, a smile on his face as his eyes got an excited twinkle in his eyes.

Master simply raised an eyebrow at his friend's expression. He knew that if he pulled a face like that, he was definitely up to something.

"What's the recipe for that delicious teriyaki your mom always made?"

* * *

**So yeah, a little bit of a shorter chapter than usual, but I hope you can forgive me.**

**I hope you enjoyed this chapter and I wish you a nice day.**

**See ya!**


	32. Chapter 32

**I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh! Arc-V. I only own my OCs.**

* * *

Arcane eyes.

* * *

The man walked into the All-Star Trinity's waiting room within Maiami Stadium, standing eye in eye with a blond boy when he entered.

Sitting in a chair that highly looked like a throne of sorts, the boy had one knee pulled up, one elbow resting upon the armrest as he rested his head on his fist with closed eyes.

"Kanbara-sama. Your match is about to start," he informed, taking a bow. "Master wants you to not be late."

Smirking, the boy spoke up. "That's the first time he requests me to be on time for something. Very well then."

Taking a stance from his throne, the boy shot it one more look before turning away.

"Tell Master he did a good job by persuing Leonardo to give everyone of All-Star Trinity, including me, a personal waiting room." Hiding his hands in his pockets, the boy continued his way, until he came to a stop in the doorpost. "And also tell him I will be 'home' soon."

Now, only reaching the quarter finals and he could fulfill that promise.

* * *

"Lilith-chan, are you ready?"

Giving nothing more than a short nod, she stood up from the bench, equipping her Duel Disk.

"Now, make sure to give my old friend's disciple a hard time," the man spoke, smiling smugly as he already thought of the boasting he would do if his friend's disciple would be beaten by his. "And don't hold back to much against your old playmate. He can handle it from what I've heard."

"I won't hold back. I have a task to fulfill," Lilith said, sending the man a dangerous look. "But I will win and acquire the Dimension Dragons."

With that said, she disappeared into the hallway, making her way to the duel field full of confidence.

The man pushed his glasses further up his nose, tucking away a strand of white hair behind his ears.

"Ah...~ They grow up so fast."

* * *

"Welcome, everyone! Today, one of the last duels of the second round of Maiami Championship will be duked out and by two duels that will be sure to get you excited!" the commentator shouted, his own excitement clearly audible.

The two duelists in question entered the duel field under loud cheering of the crowd, Duel Disks already equipped around their arms.

"Here they are!" the commentator exclaimed. "At one side, Brandon Kanbara!"

The boy walked to his spot with a smirk on his face, hands still hidden in his pockets before taking them out to wave at the audience for a short while.

"Alright! Kanbara-kun is one of the only ones left that needs to win," Kate went.

"If he makes it through, our reputation will increase even more because an extra duelist managed to reach the Battle Royale," Michelle added.

"And on the other side, Lilith Yumi!"

With an icy expression, Lilith walked to the spot across of the blond. When she saw him, her cyan eyes seemed to twinkle for a bit, despite her expression remaining serious. She quickly examined him to see if he was still that boy she knew years ago. And while his blond hair had only gotten a little bit longer, it was pretty much the only thing that remained of the old Brandon together with the dogtag.

But the little boy that wore a baggy shirt, baggy shorts and had cuts and scrapes on his arms and legs was entirely gone from what it seemed. Even the boyish face that was always full of happiness and excitement was gone, being replaced by a serious and emotionless deathstaring face that could only smirk placed on top of a quite tall, more muscular and slightly tanned body.

Brandon, on his turn, examined her too. She still had her breathtaking red hair that, throughout the years of letting it grow, now reached down her waist. The loose bangs covered her forehead while her faced was enframed by her sidebangs. On top of her head was a beret, of which Brandon knew that an ahoge was hiding underneath it, and that it was there because Lilith had always been ashamed of the ahoge.

From her clothing, he guessed she wore her Duel School's uniform; a white collared blouse that she kept untucked, the shirttails falling over the belt that held her deckcase. And outside of that, pretty much everything else she wore was black; the elbow-length gloves, short skirt, thigh-high socks and a tie.

And now that he actually saw her, he realized why the teen guys where catcalling. For a 15-years old, she had a _very_ curvaceous and developed figure.

He just wondered if she realized that she was looking at him in a very obvious manner. "If you're done staring at me, we can get this underway."

"I remember you being nicer years ago," she said, quickly changing her attention to his eyes. She then shot him a glare. "And I remember you being not so power hungry."

"That was then and this is now," he spoke, keeping his Duel Disk ready. "And what's wrong with power? With power, one will never be weak. It's as easy as that."

"Even if that power is as destructive as that of the Dimensional Dragons?" Lilith countered, readying her own Duel Disk.

Brandon smirked, eyes narrowing. "So that's what it's about. Don't worry. If you're lucky, you might get to see one up close."

Meanwhile, in the sky, an Action Field spun around, getting activated and spreading Action Cards all over the field when te commentator snapped his fingers.

The duel field had changed into a big library, earning an annoyed groan out of the blond. Couldn't they pick something that reminded him of school that actually was fun to be? Like the road home perhaps.

"DUEL!"

**Lilith (4000) versus Kanbara (4000)**

"My turn. I activate Spellbook Archive Crescen from my hand. When I have no Spellbook Magic cards in my graveyard, I can reveal three Spellbook Magic cards from my deck. Then, you randomly choose one of them to add to my hand and the other two get shuffled back in the deck," Lilith explained, revealing three Magic cards with the backings facing Brandon.

"I choose the one on the far right," the boy declared, Lilith showing him the card that he had chosen before adding it to her hand.

"I activate Spellbook Hall Étoile. For each Spellbook card activated, it gains a Spell Counter. Then I activate Divine Judgment of the Spellbook and after that, I activate the card added to my hand, Spellbook of Grimo. This card allows me to add one Spellbook card from my deck to my hand," Lilith explained, one card emerging from her deck. "Then, I summon Magical Clown - Mat."

Magical Clown - Mat, Level 3, 1600/900

Spellbook Hall Étoile: Spell Counters: 0 → 2

"For each Spell Counter on Hall Étoile, Spellcaster-type monsters gain 100 attack."

Magical Clown - Mat: 1600 → 1800

"Then, I activate Spellbook of Cefer. By revealing Spellbook of Hygro while I control a Spellcaster-type monster, Cefer's effect becomes the effect of that of one Spellbook card in my graveyard," explained Lilith. "The Spellbook I choose is Spellbook of Grimo, which allows me to add one Spellbook card from my deck to my hand."

Spellbook of Hall Étoile: Spell Counters: 2 → 4

Magical Clown - Mat: 1800 → 2000

"Turn end," she declared, Mat beggining to laugh as it disappeared from the field while engulfed in a dark aura. "At this time, I activate Mat's effect. I discard one Spellbook card from my deck to the graveyard and when I have five or more Spellbook Magic cards in my graveyard when Mat's activated this effect, I can Special Summon a level 5 or higher Spellcaster-type monster from my deck."

With even more laughter, Mat fully disappeared, a new entity beginning to form within the dark aura.

**"Within the darkness of the night, you shall get rid of all evil by reaping their filthy souls! Advance Summon! Appear, Magical Nigromancer - La Morte!"**

A, what seemed to be a young man, cloaked within a black cloak appeared on the field, smirking maliciously as he held his scythe ready.

Magical Nigromancer - La Morte, Level 6, 2000/1600

"When La Morte is summoned, I can activate and apply as many of his effects possible depending on the amount of Spellbook Magic cards in my graveyard. Because I have more than five in my graveyard, I can activate all of his effect," Lilith explained, La Morte getting enveloped in a dark aura. "Therefore, he gains 600 attack, I can add a Spellbook Magic card to my hand, and I can Special Summon a level 5 or higher Dark Spellcaster-type monster from my deck."

Magical Nigromancer - La Morte: 2000 → 2600

Lilith then added the Spellbook card to her hand and a new monster appeared onto the field, and just like La Morte, it wasn't a very friendly one.

**"Arise from the dark realm, changing the course of history! Advance Summon! Appear, Magical Demon Knight - Diable!"**

Magical Demon Knight - Diable, Level 6, 2500/1200

"At this time, Divine Judgment of the Spellbook's effect activates, too. I can add a number of Spellbook Magic cards to my hand up to the number of Magic cards activated after Divine Judgment of the Spellbook's resolution, then, I can Special Summon a Spellcaster-type monster from my deck with a level equal to or less than the number of added Spellbook cards added to my hand."

Adding two cards to her hand, a new monster appeared on the field, but this time, it didn't look like any of the two other monsters on the field. "I Special Summon Magical Spellbook Keeper - Batel."

Magical Spellbook Keeper - Batel, Level 2, 500/400

"And by Hall Étoile's effect, their attack increases with 400 points."

Magical Nigromancer - La Morte: 2600 → 3000

Magical Demon Knight - Diable: 2500 → 2900

Magical Spellbook Keeper - Batel: 500 → 900

"For someone with a face like that, your monsters sure look scary," the blond commented, drawing his card. "However, it interests me. First, I activate the magic card, Super-Rejuvenation Ability. Then, I activate Treasure Cards of Harmony, discarding the Tuner monster Labradoridragon to draw two new cards. Now, I activate the effect of Burner in my hand. By discarding it together with another Dragon-type monster, I can Special Summon Blaster onto my field! Then, I discard also discard Stream together with another Dragon-type monster to Special Summon Dragon Ruler of Waterfalls - Tidal from my deck!"

Dragon Ruler of Waterfalls - Tidal, Level 7, 2600/2000

Dragon Ruler of Blazes - Blaster, Level 7, 2800/1800

"Tidal! Attack Diable! Tsunami Maelstrom!" Brandon ordered, as Tidal called forth a tsunami that drowned Lilith's field before a maelstrom attempted to pull Diable in.

"What's this?! Kanbara is risking the destruction of Blaster with his own attack!?" the presentator went, holding his hand in his hair while watching it.

"Instant magic, Giant Shadow of Egoism!" Brandon shouted, revealing the last card in his hand. "Now that Tidal declares an attack, its attack increases with a 1000!"

Dragon Ruler of Waterfalls - Tidal: 2600 → 3600

Then, the volcanic blast made contact with Diable, burning it away as it let out a cry before disappearing.

Lilith: 4000 → 3300

"Then now, it's time to unleash my new strength! **Level 7 Dragon Ruler of Waterfalls - Tidal, Dragon Ruler of Blazes - Blaster, overlay!" **the blond ordered, his two beloved dragons turning into energy streaks before disappearing inside a portal. **"Mechanical dragon that dwells in the sky above! Bombard and destroy with the firepower of a machine while swooping down with the fierceness of a dragon! Xyz Summon! Take off to the skies, rank 7! Airforce of the Dragon Ruler army! Mecha Phantom Beast Dragossack!"**

Emerging from the portal, a big dragon mixed with a cossack hovered over Brandon's field, letting out a roar as it swung its tail.

Mecha Phantom Beast Dragossack, Rank 7, 2600/2200, Overlay Units: 2

"I activate Dragossack's effect!" Brandon declared, the cossack-dragon absorbing one of the beams circling around it. "By detaching one Overlay Unit, I can Special Summon two Mecha Phantom Beast Tokens. And now, as long as these tokens are on the field, Dragossack cannot be destroyed by battle or by card effects."

Mecha Phantom Beast Dragossack: Overlay Units: 2 → 1

Mecha Phantom Beast Token (x2), Level 3, 0/0

"Turn end. And at this time, Super-Regeneration Ability's effect activates," Brandon announced, his fingers resting on top of his deck. "For each Dragon-type monster discarded or released from my hand or my side of the field, I can draw one card. With four discarded, I can draw four new cards."

**Lilith: 2700, Cards x5**

**Brandon: 4000, Cards x4**

"You summoned an Xyz monster but not the one I wanted you to summon..." Lilith muttered, drawing her card.

"Hm?"

"Nothing." Lilith revealed three cards. Three Magic cards, to be more specific. "By revealing three Spellbook Magic cards, I activate Junon's effect to summon her! **Dictate the time of destruction! Special Summon! Appear, Magical Priestess - Junon!"**

Magical Priestess - Junon, Level 7, 2500/2100

Magical Priestess - Junon: 2500 → 2900

"Then I activate Diable's effect in the graveyard. By banishing three Spellbook Magics, I can Special Summon it from the graveyard!" Lilith explained, Diable returning to the field while brandishing its demonic sword.

Magical Demon Knight - Diable: 2500 → 2900

"I summon Magical Warrior - Force!" Lilith announced, summoning forth a red-haired human with something that looked like a staff with a lion head on it.

Magical Warrior - Force, Level 4, 1500/1400

"Then, I activate Force's effect! By shuffling one Spellbook from my graveyard into my deck, the attack of Force increases with 500 and its level with 1!" Lilith exlplained.

Magical Warrior - Force: Level 4 → 5

Magical Warrior - Force: 1500 → 2000

**"Level 5 Diable, Force, overlay!" **Lilith ordered, throwing her arm up into the air. **"Cast your spell of destruction! Xyz summon! Appear, rank 5! Magical Empress Saint - Trice!"**

Out of the portal emerged a woman in a green and white dress with a high collar and a scepter, calmly sitting in her throne.

Magical Empress Saint - Trice, Rank 5, 2000/1700, Overlay Units: 2

"Trice gains 300 attack for each Overlay Unit attached to a monster I control. With having two of herself and on top of that the boost of Hall Étoile, she gains 1000 attack," Lilith clarified, the scepter of Trice briefly glowing.

Magical Empress Saint - Trice: 2000 → 3000

"And by banishing one Spellbook in my graveyard, Junon can destroy that Mecha Phantom Beast Token of yours!" Lilith revealed, making the blond's eyes widen. Junon let out a laugh before chanting something, the green book-like object she had lighting up before its green aura surrounded the token, destroying it with a snap of Junon's fingers.

"Now then. Junon, attack the other token!" Lilith ordered, Junon once again chanting something, but this time, the green book-like object lighted up to charge a beam, getting unleashed at the other token with a snap of Junon's fingers.

"La Morte! Attack Dragossack!" Lilith ordered, pointing at the mechanical dragon-cossack. La Morte let out a maniacal laugh, using his scythe to cut Dragossack's wings off, the rest of its bodyparts following soon after.

Brandon: 4000 → 3600

"I direct attack with Trice!"

"Oh, boy. Magic blast incoming," the blond sarcastically told himself, despite the fact that he was not able to do anything else than shield himself from the attack with his arms.

Brandon: 3600 → 600

"I set one card and end my turn."

Smoke still coming from his body, the boy took a stance, saying nothing. His crimson eyes were hidden by his bangs, preventing Lilith and everyone else from reading him. "My turn! Draw!"

Smirking as he saw his drawn card, he took out another one that he already had in his hand, showing them to Lilith. **"With the Scale 1 Starstream Dragon and the Scale 11 Timestream Dragon, I'm setting the Pendulum Scale!"**

In the blue pillars of light, the two dragons rose up, a weird looking '1' and '11' appearing underneath them, a big pendant hanging in between them.

"Is this..." the presentator begun, looking at it with full anticipation. "the rumoured summon?! The never seen before Pendulum Summon!? So Brandon Kanbara was the duelist in that video!?"

The pendant hidden underneath his v-neck began to emit a harsh light, the bigger version of it swinging from right to left behind the pillars of light.

**"Swing! Pendulum of souls! Grand power of my prideful soul, unleash yourself so that the light within can draw the outlines of my heart across the ether! Pendulum Summon!"  
**

A small portal opened up between the two pillars, a red beam crashing down onto Brandon's field.

**"Arise with your strength directly given to you from the Pendulum, rare dragon with powers unknown to us all! Threat with dual colored eyes, descend now! The mysterious part of my soul, Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon!"**

Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon, Level 7, 2500/2000

And while the whole audience cheered and shouted in excitement because of Pendulum Summon, Lilith's cyan eyes narrowed. "One of the four Dimensional Dragons... You finally brought it out... But do you even know the real extend of the powers they possess?"

Smirking, the boy answered, "Of course. You didn't honestly think that I would use them if I wasn't aware of their powers, did you?"

"I see..." Her cyan eyes continued to stare at him. Brandon guessed that she wasn't content with that answer, and his smirk turned into a smug one.

"Guessing that you want to make sure I know of their strength, I shall explain it to you," the blond informed her. "The Dimensional Dragons have the power to destroy the world if they please to do so. In order to prevent that from happening, I decided to use them and try to control them, so that, instead of destroying the world, I can save it."

"If you want to save the world, then you need to turn your back on them and destroy them," Lilith said, earning herself a glare from the boy.

"We both know I won't listen," he said, smirking as he shrugged.

Saying no more, Brandon guessed it was a sign that he could continue his turn, and he immediately slotted the last card remaining in his hand into the Magic and Trap card zone. "I activate the equipment Magic, Dragon Treasure. This card increases the attack and defense of the equipped monster with 300."

Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon: 2500 → 2800

"Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon! Destroy everything in your path with those dual colored eyes of yours!" Brandon ordered. "Destroy Junon! Burst Strike of Spirals!"

Odd-Eyes unleashed its attack and while the audience gasped at Brandon's attempt of another suicide action, Brandon simply smirked. "I activate Starstream Dragon's Pendulum effect! When a Dragon-type monster or a Pendulum monster battles a monster with equal or higher attack, the attacking monster's attack increases with 500!"

Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon: 2800 → 3300

"Trap, activate! Dimensional Prison!" Lilith shouted, a dimensional raft appearing in front of Odd-Eyes' attack.

"I activate Timestream Dragon's Pendulum effect! When a Dragon-type monster or a Pendulum monster would be targeted or destroyed by a Magic or Trap card, I can negate that card's effect and destroy it," Brandon explained, Timestream Dragon's roar throwing the duel field in an area with a lot of lights. "Isn't it fun, being able to control time? I can control it up to the point that I can make it seem like your trap never even existed in the first place."

The dimensional raft disappeared, Odd-Eyes' attack bursting through again, hitting Junon in the stomach.

Lilith: 2700 → 2300

"And when Odd-Eyes inflicts battle damage, it's doubled!" Brandon revealed, throwing an aftershock at Lilith. "Reaction Force!"

Lilith: 2400 → 1900

"Turn end."

**Lilith: 1900, Cards x3**

**Brandon: 700, Cards x1**

"My turn. Draw!" Adding the drawn card to her hand, Lilith shot him another look before looking at her cards once again. "I'm sorry that I have to seperate you from your 'beloved' dragons. But in the end, you let me no choice. I activate the Magic card, Spellbook of Necro! By banishing Mat, and showing you one Spellbook Magic in my hand, I can Special Summon a Spellcaster-type monster in my graveyard and equip this card to it!"

Force reappeared on the field, a white-blueish aura encloaking it.

"Then, its level increases by the level of the banished monster's!" Lilith explained.

Magical Warrior - Force: Level 4 → Level 7

Spellbook Hall Étoile: Spell Counters: 4 → 5

Magical Empress Saint - Trice: 3000 → 3100

"And with Resurrection of the Death I Special Summon back Junon!"

Brandon smirked at Junon's reappearance. Timestream Dragon's Pendulum effect could easily stop Junon in her tracks. Just what was Lilith trying to achieve with making plays like that?

**"Level 7 Force, Junon, overlay!"**

"Wait what...?"

**"Cast your spell of eradication! Xyz summon! Appear, rank 7! Magical Hierophant - Hieron!"**

Magical Hierophant - Hieron, Rank 7, 2800/2600, Overlay Units: 2

Magical Hierophant - Hieron: 2800 → 3300

"I activate Hieron's effect!" Lilith declared, Hieron absorbing one of the two beams through his staff. "By detaching one Overlay Unit, I can destroy Magic and Trap cards you control up to the number of Spellbook Magics in my graveyard."

Brandon's eyes widened as he took a step back. Pendulum monsters, when in their Pendulum zones, were Magic cards. If those two were to get destroyed, he would have no protection left anymore because Odd-Eyes' attack weren't the same as Lilith's monster with the highest attack.

Hieron shot a magical beam at both zones, destroying both pillars in an instant.

"Hieron! Trice! La Morte! Attack Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon!" Lilith ordered, at which the two monsters unleashed their magical blasts from their staffs.

Brandon's eyes widened even more as he gritted his teeth in shock.

_If these attacks hit... then Odd-Eyes... No... Then I am done for! _

And before he knew it, the beam had reached him, causing an explosion.

"Is this... it? Has Brandon Kanbara been defeated?!" the commentator asked, searching for a sign of the crimson-eyed youth.

And when the smoke cleared, a red dragon could be seen standing, with Brandon behind it.

However, while he should look relieved, he looked shocked. Very shocked.

Just like everyone at Your Move when they saw how he managed to survive.

"A-Action Card!" Riley exclaimed.

"He used an Action Card..." Eldon muttered.

"Despite completely dismissing them during that duel against Chris at that time..." Lamar added.

"Action Card... I activated a thing like that... A thing for those who's deck isn't strong enough..." the blond muttered, his right eye twitching beneath his hand. But he then realized that Odd-Eyes was still there and it was because of that Action Card. "The Action Card Great Escape saved Odd-Eyes from destruction... I see now... Action Cards... They are there to save one's deck... So that that deck can fight on... So then... it's for those who trust in their decks and do everything to protect it...?"

Lilith watched him for a short while, not really sure if he was still okay or if he was slowly going insane for no reason.

The boy then began to laugh, his eye no longer twitching beneath his eye. Everybody looked at him as if he was crazy, but the boy continued to laugh.

Lilith simply took a step back, slightly disturbed by the boy's sudden behavior. "Turn end."

His laughter dying down, the boy drew his card, his serious expression returning. But this time, there was more confidence than ever before in those crimson orbs. "My turn! DRAW!"

A shockwave got unleashed by his draw, the roaring of various dragons, probably those in his deck, being heard while drawing his card that seemed to engulfed in fire.

"I activate the Magic card, Treasure Cards from the Heavens," Brandon declared. "This card allows us both to draw until we have six cards in our hand."

Both drew the number of cards needed, adding them to their hand.

A tornado raged over the field, arms, legs, wings and a tail emerging from it soon after. "I banish Timestream Dragon and Starstream Dragon from my graveyard to Special Summon Dragon Ruler of Storms - Tempest!"

Dragon Ruler of Storms - Tempest, Level 7, 2400/2200

"Then I activate my equipment magic, Fiber Change!" Brandon said. "Once per turn, I can change the type of the equipped monster to the type that I desire. And the one I want is Spellcaster!"

Tempest got engulfed in a purple aura, it's body structure changing as it got enfulged in said aura.

"Lastly, I activate Fusion! Fusing together Tempest and Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon!"

In a swirling vortex of light behind him, Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon and Tempest appeared before it, getting drawn in as they began to merge together.

**"Ruler of storms. Become on with the mysterious part of my soul to discover the magical strength hidden deep inside! Arcane dragon wielder of magic that will destroy all that's in our way, roar! Fusion summon! Unleash your devastating magic within and use it to lay waste to all that stands in your way! Descend, level 8! Rune-Eyes Pendulum Dragon!"**

In front of Brandon now stood Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon, albeit with a different body structure and two arcs, one ranging from its sides over his back, one from one side of the head to the other. Its right eye was an arcane instead of a normal eye, while its head was more pointy than before. Being battle ready, it let out a roar.

Rune-Eyes Pendulum Dragon, Level 8, 3000/2000

"Now! Rune-Eyes! Attack!"

"Is Kanbara going for another suicide attack!?" the commentator shouted, one hand entangled in his hair once again.

The blond let out a sigh, but smirking afterwards. "Already used one and threw my beliefs on them out of the window. Might as well use another one..."

At high speed, he searched for an Action Card, smirking once again as he found the one he needed.

Holding it in his right hand, he jumped onto Rune-Eyes' back, smugly smirking. "Action Card, High Dive, activate! This card increases Rune-Eyes' attack with a 1000!"

Rune-Eyes Pendulum Dragon: 3000 → 4000

"But it won't work!" Lilith tried to convince him. "It's not enough to get rid of the rest of my life!"

"Is that so? Then allow me to demonstrate... _my dear Lilith-chan_. The Dimensional Dragons' destructive power!" he declared, smirking before doing so. "Depending on the level of the Spellcaster-type used for Rune-Eyes' Fusion Summon, he can attack a certain number of times. Tempest served as the Spellcaster-type and had a level of 7. That allows Rune-Eyes to make up to five attacks on monsters."

"Five!?"

"Five," the blond confirmed. "And last time I checked, you had Trice, Hieron, La Morte and Batel on your field. Which means Rune-Eyes can attack four times."

While the blond held on tightly on Rune-Eyes as they flew through the air, an energy triangle was created in between the arc on its back.

"Shiny Burst of Repeating **ATTACKS**!"

Beams of energy speared from each of the corners of the energy triangle, unleashing themselves upon Brandon's order, devouring Trice, Hieron, La Morte and Batel within the bright light that broke free upon hitting, preventing Lilith, who had gone on the search for an Action Card, to find one on time.

Lilith: 1900 → 0

**Brandon: WIN**

"It's over!" the commentator declared. "Today's triumph goes to Brandon Kanbara!"

Rune-Eyes landed on the ground in front of Lilith, letting Brandon off before it disappeared together with the Action Field.

"You might beat me with everything on any academic thing, but this is my forte," the blond spoke, holding out a hand for her.

Looking up, she noticed him hovering over her, willing to help her up. With gratitude, she took his hand, helping herself up to his level of height. She let out a sigh, sending him a smile. "I guess it was fun for as long as it lasted."

She got nothing more than a "hmph" out of him as he turned away, preparing to leave the duel field so the other duels could start. "Wait. I have something for you."

"Hm?" With one raised eyebrow, he looked back, catching a small card that she threw at him. He quickly read what was on it and it seemed to be the location of a Duel School; her Duel School to be exact.

"The headmaster wants you to drop by," she explained, saving him from needing to ask.

"I'm not interested," he said, putting the card in his pocket before his hands followed. "However, because it's you, I'll consider it. But don't keep your hopes up for rekindling the bonds we once had when I decide to go in on your offer."

He then turned away, once again attempting to continue his way inside until her words brought him to a stop again.

"It was nice seeing you again after so long, Kanbara-kun."

This time, he didn't turn around or say a word. Instead, he just resumed his way inside.

He won and that was the only thing he thought was nice to see.

* * *

**Rune-Eyes Pendulum Dragon has a mixed effect:**

**1 "Pendulum Dragon" monster + 1 Spellcaster-Type monster  
**

**If this card was Fusion Summoned using a Pendulum Summoned monster(s) on the field as Fusion Material, it is unaffected by your opponent's card effects this turn. Apply the appropriate effect, depending on the original level of the monster used as Fusion material that was not a "Pendulum Dragon" monster.  
**

**\- Level 4 or lower: This card can make up to 2 attacks on monsters during each battle phase**

**\- Level 5 or higher: This card can make up to 3 attacks on monsters during each Battle Phase.**

**\- Level 7 or higher: This card can make up to 5 attacks on monsters during each Battle Phase.**

**I didn't know exactly which way I wanted to go regarding Timestream and Starstream's Pendulum effects, but I decided to go for the ones explained in the chapter, so those are their Pendulum effects from now on.**

**Lilith Yumi roughly translate to (According to the sources I've used) 'beauty of the night'. **

**I hope you enjoyed this chapter and I wish you a nice day.**

**See ya.**


	33. Chapter 33

**I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh! Arc-V. I only own my OCs.**

* * *

Magical bracelet and some explanation of the plot.

* * *

"So, why exactly are you coming along?"

Kanbara shot his counterpart a glance, that same counterpart giving a glance back.

"I was the previous owner of Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon. Master said it was about that so then it's convenient I come along too," Xandon explained.

"Wait. He told you what it is all about?" Kanbara abruptly came to a halt, raising an eyebrow at Xandon, who nodded. "Why the hell didn't he tell me about that?"

"Beats me."

Shrugging, the blond began walking again, catching up with Xandon who had stopped a little bit further down the road of the blond. Right now, they needed to get to Lilith's Duel School as of Master's orders and they couldn't afford to be late.

"Who is this Lilith anyway?" Xandon asked. "Master said the two of you used to be friends in the past."

"When I was in training at All-Star Trinity, Master occasionally went to a friend of his from an other Duel School," Kanbara answered. "He often took me along because his friend also had someone in-training at his own Duel School. That person was Lilith. We used to have some duels for fun or just goof around in general."

"Used to? So you're not doing that anymore?"

"I cut off contact a couple of years ago. I preferred to spend my time training non-stop on my own and I didn't tag along with Master anymore whenever he went to his friend," Kanbara answered.

"And you don't regret it?" Xandon asked. "I mean, you should cherish all of the people you care for. One day, they could just be gone."

And that was a thing Xandon knew about. The day Academia attacked Heartland, many people he cared about disappeared out of his life thanks to Academia. The only person he had left right now was Shane, and even he could one day be gone if he continued to recklessly charge into anything regarding Fusion.

"Why would I?" the crimson-eyed boy asked, frowning. "Bonds are of no importance anyway. It will only hold you back or drag you down."

Xandon was about to speak up again, until he noticed a familiar face in the distance. He quickly looked at Kanbara to see if he saw it too, but, like usual, he was walking with eyes closed. How did he even do that without bumping into stuff?

But that same boy abruptly stopped when he felt Xandon's hand on his shoulder. Turning his head towards the white-haired boy, he raised an eyebrow. "Now what?"

Xandon simply pointed ahead with his own eyebrow raised. "That's the girl that mistook me for you with that bracelet I told you and Master about."

Looking in the direction Xandon was pointing at, Kanbara's eyes widened slightly. "Damn it. Riley and Emily. They're probably on their way to Maiami Stadium. They know I'm not ill if they see me now."

"I thought they couldn't see us together?" Xandon went, raising his second eyebrow.

"That too." Kanbara quickly looked around, searching for a spot to hide until Riley and Emily were as good as gone. Having found his spot, he smirked. "Alright. Here's the plan. I'm going to hide behind this tree, and you are... going to sit on that bench there until they're gone."

"Got it."

Both took their positions, keeping an eye on the girls and on each other to make sure either of both didn't mess up.

The two passed by the tree Kanbara was hiding behind, talking about girly stuff from what he managed to overhear, until...

"Erm, sis? Why is your bracelet glowing?" Riley asked, pointing at the bracelet around her wrist.

"Glowing?" Emily repeated, looking at her bracelet with a raised eyebrow. Her confusion and surprise increased when she found the bracelet really did glow.

Xandon, who was still in Kanbara's sight, raised an eyebrow at the glowing bracelet too, until he got surrounded by a strange pinkish aura. "Hm?"

And in an instant, he was gone completely.

Kanbara's eyes popped out of his socket as he watched Xandon go up in thin air, jumping out behind the tree. "That did not just happen!"

Hearing a familiar voice, the two girls turned around, smiling as they saw Kanbara standing behind them with a surprised expression on his face. "Oh, Kanbara-kun. You recovered from your illness."

Said boy looked at the two girls like a deer caught in headlights, quickly recovering himself. "Not fully, but I'll manage."

"So then you'll be coming to Maiami Stadium with us?"

"No, I can't. Because, actually, I... erm... I have matters to solve. Family matters! I have very important family matters to do," he answered, trying to come up with the best excuse possible now that he couldn't use illness again.

"But, erm, what exactly did not just happen?" Emily asked.

"Erm, the cat of my, erm, of my... aunt! I saw the cat of my aunt just walk by! I think she somehow ran away, and I couldn't believe it was her cat because she treats it very well so that's why I said 'that did not just happen!'," he explained. "So, I'll go catch it and return it to my aunt and then I'll go to solve my matters. Family matters. My very important family matters! See you."

He quickly ran away in the opposite direction of the girls, who watched him leave with a puzzled expression on their face.

Emily was the first of both to speak up. "Well, that was... weird."

"Yeah, Kanbara-kun seemed wary of something for some reason," Riley noticed before shrugging it off. "But come on, we can't be late at Maiami Stadium!"

"Right!"

The two girls left in the distance, and Kanbara appeared from behind another tree, making sure they were gone before taking out his Duel Disk and bringing it to his ear.

"Master? Yeah, Kanbara here. I'm facing a small problem here. Xandon went up in thin air because of the bracelet NOBODY FRIGGING TOLD ME ABOUT!"

* * *

Xandon looked around the place he was transported to. And it brought back a lot of painful memories.

Heartland was still in the bad state it was when he and Shane left it: in complete and utter destruction. Now that he saw it back again since some time he realized how much damage actually really had been done to Heartland by Academia.

But the thing they hadn't checked before departing, was if there was still other life in Heartland. Knowing that he, right now, had no way to return and it that it would probably be the only time he would return to Heartland for a long while, he decided to use the opportunity to walk through the destroyed Heartland to search for signs of other life.

But where was he supposed to start looking? Especially when he didn't know what has become of the remaining members of the Resistance.

And instead of a person, a card that was on the ground on face-down position caught his attention. Did somebody lose it while trying to flee to safety? Did somebody duel and dropped the card? Or maybe it was a card from Academia left on purpose for some reason?

But the last question in Xandon's mind was quickly scratched. The card he picked up was an Xyz monster, a summoning Academia wouldn't use. And while it was a Dragon-type monster that could be used in his deck, he know that it fitted better in his counterpart's deck and that it was easier to bring out for him.

Keeping that in mind, and the fact that the card might have had another reason to be left behind, Xandon put it away in his deckholder.

Now, what was one supposed to do in a destroyed city that he had been transported to by a magical bracelet with no way to return to where he had been transported away from?

* * *

"Why am I even here and not searching for Xandon?"

The boy let out one more sigh before opening the door of the office, hoping that Master would keep his word and would make sure to get Xandon back to Standard, finding the man sitting behind his desk, already waiting for him to show up.

"Ah, Kanbara-kun. It's good to see you again," he said. "You've grown a lot since I've last seen you."

"Yeah, it has been a long time, old geezer," the boy confirmed, even though he seemed to be less happy with everything than the man across him was.

"Hoho. I'm not that old, Kanbara-kun," the man informed, intertwining his fingers in front of his face. "Besides, haven't they taught you to be nice to the elderly at All-Star Trinity?"

"Just cut out the crap and cut to the chase," the blond answered, eyes narrowing. "Why did you want me to come here?"

"I have my reasons, Kanbara-kun."

Said boy's eyes narrowed even further and the man took it that he wasn't content with the answer he had given the boy in front of him. But maybe he would be content with something else...

"You needed me, headmaster?"

The man's lips curved into a thin smile as the girl entered, while Brandon only looked back slightly.

"Ah, Kanbara-kun. So you decided to come," she said, smiling slightly.

Her attire was the same as during their duel, only this time, she wore a closed red blazer with the Duel School logo on the right chest area over her blouse and she didn't wear the gloves.

The headmaster noticed the excitement hidden within Lilith's eyes, smiling to himself even more.

"Only because I had nothing to do and Master forced me," he informed. "Don't expect too much of it."

"Ah, Lilith-chan. Yes, I did need you for something," he confirmed, the smile not ceasing from his face. "Do you think you could show Kanbara-kun around?"

"Show around?" the boy repeated. "I'm not a tourist. Just cut to the case and cut out the games."

"Oh, but for me to cut to the case, I need to prepare for that case first, Kanbara-kun," the headmaster explained. "By the time Lilith-chan has showed you around the whole Duel School, my preparations will be complete."

"Fine then." The boy turned around, eyes closed as he now faced the door. "Then if Lilith's fine with showing me around then I will look around your Duel School and try to at least act interested in it."

"Oh, but you shouldn't just act interested. You should be interested," the headmaster spoke before he took out something that seemed to look like an uniform. "Also, change into this."

He handed the boy the uniform, who raised an eyebrow as he took it off his hands. "Why exactly do I need this?"

"Because you will be staying here for a couple of days," the headmaster answered. "You will hear about it when the preparations are done."

The boy looked at the uniform. He didn't trust that man and he had never done so, and he now definitely regretted coming.

At least the blazer was his color.

* * *

"I don't know about that bracelet. Why?"

Shane raised his eyebrow as he shot Master a suspicious look. Master simply looked back at him with an amused smile.

"According to Xandon, your captured comrade had one too. Therefore, I had tought that you knew," Master explained. "It might have made it easier for me to pinpoint Xandon's location."

"Xandon's location?" Shane repeated, eyes narrowing.

"The bracelet of your comrade's counterpart made him go up in thin air according to Kanbara. He has no idea where he went."

"Xandon is gone?!" Shane's eyes became as wide as saucers upon hearing that, before gritting his teeth. "Surely it was Academia! They want to have him out of the picture!"

"It's not Academia, Shane. The girl doesn't even know about everything that's going on. She probably doesn't even know that she managed to transport someone away with 'just' a bracelet."

"It's probably just an act! Against an enemy as big as Academia it's important to stick together! By getting rid of Xandon they make it more difficult for us to stand up to them!" Shane protested, earning a chuckle from Master.

"My, my, Shane. Talking about sticking together while you have been acting on your own whenever you heard 'Fusion' doesn't make your stick together very believable."

"And now that Xandon's gone, I don't have someone to stick together with against Academia. That's why it's not very believable," Shane answered, eyes narrowing even more. "Just tell me who did it and I'll make them pay for it and get them to return Xandon!"

"I'll be solving this myself, Shane. Now, if you'd like to excuse me, I have to get to the lab," Master informed, standing up from his throne on top of the stairs.

As Master walked past him, Shane could do nothing more than scowl. The fact that he didn't knew who was responsible for Xandon's disappearance annoyed him to no end. Now, he couldn't just go out and duel the person.

But he would definitely find the person who did it and would make that person pay. No matter how long it would take.

* * *

He adjusted the collar of the jacket one more time as they continued their walk back towards the office. Somehow, the jacket just didn't fit well. He didn't know if it really was just because it didn't fit well, or that it felt horribly wrong to wear a Duel School uniform that wasn't All-Star Trinity's.

Not that he wore the All-Star Trinity jacket as a proper jacket, but still.

"You're headmaster seems like a very dodgy guy, you know," he said, staring straight ahead. "I mean, saying he only wants me to drop by and then handing me an uniform and informing me that I will be staying a couple of days without my own permission. What the hell is even up with that?"

"He will tell us when we get back," Lilith answered, then shooting him a reassuring smile. "But he's not a bad person."

"Just because you say so, doesn't mean I trust him."

Lilith opened the door to the office that they had reached, in which the headmaster sat with what seemed to be a hurt expression. "I'm really hurt that you don't trust me, Kanbara-kun. If Master can trust me, then I know you can do too. Or well, I hoped that you could do too."

The boy immediately upped his guard upon the mention of Master, eyes dangerously narrowing. "Does he even know about this?"

"Of course he knows. We're old friends," he answered, a thin smile forming. "He gave his permission to all this and he agreed with my proposal."

"What proposal?"

Instead of answering, the headmaster once again decided to beat around the bush, the smile not ceasing from his face. "The Dimensional Dragons. Tell me about them. How did you get them? Do you know the extent of their powers? What are you planning to do with them?"

"Not this again..." sighed the blond, slightly slumping his shoulders. "Of course I know their powers. The Dimensional Dragons, unlike normal Duel Monsters, are perfectly aware of their surroundings, and, unlike the other Duel Monsters who get 'brought to live' by Solid Vision, they already seem to be alive. Because of that, their power could be considered equal to that of a god. However, when the 'Xyz god', 'Synchro god', 'Fusion god', and 'Standard god' clash while not on the same side, their true power will unleash itself because they won't rest until the other is defeated. The unleashing of their power, especially against each other, could bring forth the end of the world. And well, for finding and what I'm planning to do with them is easy: after Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon came to me, Master took me on a 'trip' as he described it. Towards Synchro Dimension and Xyz Dimension. When we entered the dimensions, the dragons resonated towards each other, making it easy for us to find them. Once we found their location, we discovered they were in the possession of people with exactly the same as me. Because I didn't feel well somehow, Master dueled them with their Dimensional Dragon on the line instead, and won them. And well, by having all three under my control, they can't fight against each other, making it unable for them to unleash their power at each other. Therefore, the apocalypse is prevented."

"Or so you think," the headmaster went immediately, a serious expression on his face for the first time. "Do you also know another power of the Dimensional Dragons? The one in which they are able to take over their owner for example?"

"If that was true, I'm sure it would have already happened. Then now, cut to the chase."

"Very well. First of all, I want you to undergo some tests, just to make sure the Dimensional Dragons haven't caused any damage to your body yet," he explained. "Also, because of the potential danger in using them, I want you to go and train with Lilith to create an Xyz, Synchro and Fusion monster that you can use instead of the constant relying on the Dimensional Dragons."

"And you think that I can randomly create new cards?" the boy asked, raising an eyebrow. "Only Leonardo can do that and even that takes time."

"Oh, but you can. You have a pendant that can do that."

"So much for keeping it a secret. Again." He rolled his eyes, supporting his unamused tone. "But even so. I have a Battle Royale to prepare for."

"There's enough time left before the Battle Royale starts."

"And where am I staying?" he then asked, frowning. "You can't expect me to travel so far everyday just to train for three cards."

"Just like All-Star Trinity, which also serves as an elementary boarding school, this Royal Trinity Duel School is the same. Therefore, you'lle be getting a room within this Duel School you'll be staying in and you'll also be attending some of the classes of the Duel School to help you out with your training," the headmaster explained. "But because most the male students go to either LDS or All-Star Trinity, this Duel School only has few male students. Therefore, they all already have a room mate, just like all the girls. So, you'll be sharing your room with the only person who still hasn't a roommate: Lilith-chan."

"W-what?!" said girl went, face turning a darker shade of red than her hair.

"Fine."

The headmaster smiled, standing up from behind his desk, walking towards the desk of his office. "Very well. Then, Kanbara-kun, please walk along with me to start your tests."

"As you wish, old geezer."

"Please, call me Master Trinity."

As the blond followed the headmaster out of the office, Lilith remained on her own, with her face still red.

"W-wait! Don't I get a say in this!?"

* * *

"Did you find something?"

Master Trinity raised an eyebrow at the girl in front of his desk, earning a nod.

"I did. Right after he stopped complaining and cursing about inhuman ways of conducting tests," the girl informed, holding a blue orb in her hands. She carefully placed the orb on the desk, making sure that Master Trinity could see what was going on. "As you can see, within the orb, a dark energy can be seen."

"Saying that is an understatement."

The dark energy wasn't just a spot or a little bit out of hand. No, it was far above that. The dark energy actually formed a large and wild blob, trying its hardest to break free.

"Indeed. There seems to be a large amount of darkness existing within his soul that seems able to burst any second," the girl explained. "It seems that the boy himself is unaware of it."

"Is that so?" the man asked, raising another eyebrow. "In that case, I'll contact Master and suggest that we keep a close eye on him. After all, we don't want him to become even more of a hassle than he already is out of his own."

* * *

The blond ploffed down on the bed, immediately kicking of his shoes. The bed was of better quality than he expected. Sure, it wasn't All-Star Trinity quality, but not every Duel School had the financial power of LDS and All-Star Trinity.

And while the blond rested on the bed with hands behind his hand and one knee pulled up, Lilith sat on her bed, nervously fiddling with her fingers. How could Kanbara be so calm in a situation like this!?

Kanbara, despite having his eyes closed, seemed to have noticed and as a result, popped open one eye. "What are you being so nervous about?"

"Eh?!" Her head shot up, beet red from embarassment. She waited for a moment, trying to find the right words before speaking up. "Well, I... I... I'm not used to having a... boy... in my room."

His second eye popped open, and he looked at Lilith with his always serious expression. While to others, it might have sounded a little bit vague, he easily understood what she meant with those words. "Aren't you a little bit much prudish. Calm down. I'm not some kind of pervert. You know that."

Kanbara's Duel Disk began to ring, preventing the conversation from continuing. Looking at the caller's ID, he accepted the call. "Kanbara."

_"Yo, dude! Kai here! We have a problem!"_

"And what might that problem be?"

_"It's Shane! Master said he was gone! He's probably searching for the person who transported Xandon away!"_

"What do you want be to do about it? Keep him on a leash?"

_"Well... no! But can't you just do something about him?"_

"I'm not his baybsitter. Besides, I'm unable to do anything unless my 'training' is done here. Just put a halt to him yourself."

_"In that case, can I borrow your cloak? It's really cool and-"_

"You can't have my cloak. Get your own cloak somewhere."

_"You're no fun."_

"Life isn't all fun and games. Deal with it. Now, I got to go. See you later."

_"Got it! Just leave Shane to me then! Later, buddy!"_

Putting away his Duel Disk, the blond let out a sigh. Did Master really do nothing to keep an eye on Shane?

"Everything okay? Your friend sounded very agitated," Lilith said, a worried expression on her face.

"It's fine. Kai has always been a little bit of a drama queen."

"Don't you mean king?"

"Did I stutter?"

Realizing how harsh that sounded, the boy briefly closed his eyes, shooting her an apologizing look. "Sorry. That came out harsher and more rude than I meant it."

"It's fine. Really," she assured, shooting him a smile. "Because of all the training at All-Star Trinity, I understand that you're anti-social."

"Anti-social?" the blond repeated, shooting her a confused expression before smirking. "At least I'm not embarrased about an ahoge."

His smirk seemed to become even more taunting with any second that passed in which Lilith didn't say anything. But the latter didn't really know what to say. It had been years since she had last seen Kanbara, and he was back in her life now (somehow), he had changed a lot over the years, so approaching him like she used to do would probably be futile. "But it's really embarrasing! It looks weird!"

"That's bullcrap and you know it. That's a thing little children would say. And we're everything except little children now," Kanbara spoke, giving her a stern look as he raised from the bed. He softly grabbed a hold of Lilith's arm, pulling her up and dragging her towards the mirror that was in front of her room. He threw a single arm around her, as he took of her black barret, smirking. "Look at you with the ahoge. It makes both you and me look better. And we already looked very good so I didn't know that was even possible."

He then playfully returned it and took it off again, repeating "With barret, without barret, with barret, without barret".

"Give that back!" she ordered, swiftly snatching it out of his hand and returning it onto her head.

"You get my point," Kanbara said, walking towards the door. "I still remember that time you told me I needed to stop wearing my cap because it looked better without it. I feel you look better with the ahoge visible, but it's up to you to decide. Now, I'll be going to the cafetaria to get some food."

As soon as the door closed, Kanbara's words began to dwell through her mind again. She looked in the mirror with her barret on before taking it off, freeing the ahoge with it. Maybe Kanbara was right. He had always been an honest person. Sometimes even a little bit too honest. But she never really minded that.

She inspected herself in the mirror for a couple of seconds one more time, smiling confidently, before her stomach began to growl.

"Kanbara-kun! Wait up!"

* * *

"Almost there!" Riley exclaimed. She then checked the time on her watch. "And on time, too!"

"Yeah, but what's up with all these crows?" Emily asked, frowning as she saw multiple crows on the upper ring of Maiami Stadium.

"I don't know..." Riley answered. "But it's really disturbing..."

"So you finally decided to show up. Academia!"

The two girls turned around, finding a scowling teen glaring daggers at them.

"Well, of course, we are supposed to be at Maiami Stadium," Riley said, pointing at the entrance of the stadium.

"And what even is 'Academia'?" Emily asked.

"Don't play dumb," Shane sneered, scowl deepening. "Where's Xandon?! Have you brought him to your headquarters?!"

"Xandon?"

"Headquarters?"

"Don't play dumb I said! Return Xandon or I'll make you!" Shane equipped his Duel Disk to his wrist, subsequently activating it.

The threatening gaze did not go unnoticed to the two girls, but they knew that it was a misunderstanding but the boy didn't really seem up for reasoning so they had to take action.

"If you think we have your friend, then **you** are the one who's extremely stupid," Emily sneered, equipping her own Duel Disk and activating it.

Riley glanced at both, not really wanting to duel, especially when they had to get to Maiami Stadium. Who knew what would happen if they would be late?

But, from the expression of both, she knew that there was no other way than to just participate. With a sigh, she equipped her own Duel Disk and activated it just like how the other two had done before.

""DUEL!""

* * *

**Going to refer to Brandon as Kanbara from now on, because that's what pretty much every character does (with a few exceptions.) and it will be less confusing that way.**

**I hope you enjoyed this chapter and I wish you a nice day.**

**See ya.**


End file.
